Multi-menisci processing apparatus

ABSTRACT

A substrate preparation apparatus is provided. The apparatus includes a housing configured to be installed in a substrate fabrication facility. The housing includes a manifold for use in preparing a wafer surface. The manifold is configured to include a first process window in a first portion of the manifold. A first fluid meniscus is capable of being defined within the first process window. Further included is a second process window in a second portion of the manifold. A second fluid meniscus is capable of being defined within the second process window. An arm is integrated with the housing, and the arm is coupled to the manifold, such that the arm is capable of positioning the manifold in proximity with the substrate during operation. The apparatus therefore provides for the formation of multi-menisci over the surface of a substrate using a single manifold.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a divisional of and claims priority from U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 10/404,270 filed on Mar. 31, 2003, and entitled,“Vertical Proximity Processor” which is a continuation-in-part andclaims priority from co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No.10/330,843 filed on Dec. 24, 2002 and entitled “Meniscus, Vacuum, IPAVapor, Drying Manifold,” which is a continuation-in-part of co-pendingU.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/261,839 filed on Sep. 30, 2002 andentitled “Method and Apparatus for Drying Semiconductor Wafer SurfacesUsing a Plurality of Inlets and Outlets Held in Close Proximity to theWafer Surfaces,” both of which are incorporated herein by reference inits entirety. This application is related to U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 10/330,897, filed on Dec. 24, 2002, entitled “System forSubstrate Processing with Meniscus, Vacuum, IPA vapor, Drying Manifold”and is also related to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/404,692,filed on Mar. 31, 2003, entitled “Methods and Systems for Processing aSubstrate Using a Dynamic Liquid Meniscus.” The aforementioned patentapplications are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to semiconductor wafer cleaning and dryingand, more particularly, to apparatuses and techniques for moreefficiently removing fluids from wafer surfaces while reducingcontamination and decreasing wafer cleaning cost.

2. Description of the Related Art

In the semiconductor chip fabrication process, it is well-known thatthere is a need to clean and dry a wafer where a fabrication operationhas been performed that leaves unwanted residues on the surfaces ofwafers. Examples of such a fabrication operation include plasma etching(e.g., tungsten etch back (WEB)) and chemical mechanical polishing(CMP). In CMP, a wafer is placed in a holder which pushes a wafersurface against a rolling conveyor belt. This conveyor belt uses aslurry which consists of chemicals and abrasive materials to cause thepolishing. Unfortunately, this process tends to leave an accumulation ofslurry particles and residues at the wafer surface. If left on thewafer, the unwanted residual material and particles may cause, amongother things, defects such as scratches on the wafer surface andinappropriate interactions between metallization features. In somecases, such defects may cause devices on the wafer to become inoperable.In order to avoid the undue costs of discarding wafers having inoperabledevices, it is therefore necessary to clean the wafer adequately yetefficiently after fabrication operations that leave unwanted residues.

After a wafer has been wet cleaned, the wafer must be dried effectivelyto prevent water or cleaning fluid remnants from leaving residues on thewafer. If the cleaning fluid on the wafer surface is allowed toevaporate, as usually happens when droplets form, residues orcontaminants previously dissolved in the cleaning fluid will remain onthe wafer surface after evaporation (e.g., and form spots). To preventevaporation from taking place, the cleaning fluid must be removed asquickly as possible without the formation of droplets on the wafersurface. In an attempt to accomplish this, one of several differentdrying techniques are employed such as spin drying, IPA, or Marangonidrying. All of these drying techniques utilize some form of a movingliquid/gas interface on a wafer surface which, if properly maintained,results in drying of a wafer surface without the formation of droplets.Unfortunately, if the moving liquid/gas interface breaks down, as oftenhappens with all of the aforementioned drying methods, droplets form andevaporation occurs resulting in contaminants being left on the wafersurface.

The most prevalent drying technique used today is spin rinse drying(SRD). FIG. 1 illustrates movement of cleaning fluids on a wafer 10during an SRD drying process. In this drying process, a wet wafer isrotated at a high rate by rotation 14. In SRD, by use of centrifugalforce, the water or cleaning fluid used to clean the wafer is pulledfrom the center of the wafer to the outside of the wafer and finally offof the wafer as shown by fluid directional arrows 16. As the cleaningfluid is being pulled off of the wafer, a moving liquid/gas interface 12is created at the center of the wafer and moves to the outside of thewafer (ie., the circle produced by the moving liquid/gas interface 12gets larger) as the drying process progresses. In the example of FIG. 1,the inside area of the circle formed by the moving liquid/gas interface12 is free from the fluid and the outside area of the circle formed bythe moving liquid/gas interface 12 is the cleaning fluid. Therefore, asthe drying process continues, the section inside (the dry area) of themoving liquid/gas interface 12 increases while the area (the wet area)outside of the moving liquid/gas interface 12 decreases. As statedpreviously, if the moving liquid/gas interface 12 breaks down, dropletsof the cleaning fluid form on the wafer and contamination may occur dueto evaporation of the droplets. As such, it is imperative that dropletformation and the subsequent evaporation be limited to keep contaminantsoff of the wafer surface. Unfortunately, the present drying methods areonly partially successful at the prevention of moving liquid interfacebreakdown.

In addition, the SRD process has difficulties with drying wafer surfacesthat are hydrophobic. Hydrophobic wafer surfaces can be difficult to drybecause such surfaces repel water and water based (aqueous) cleaningsolutions. Therefore, as the drying process continues and the cleaningfluid is pulled away from the wafer surface, the remaining cleaningfluid (if aqueous based) will be repelled by the wafer surface. As aresult, the aqueous cleaning fluid will want the least amount of area tobe in contact with the hydrophobic wafer surface. Additionally, theaqueous cleaning solution tends cling to itself as a result of surfacetension (ie., as a result of molecular hydrogen bonding). Therefore,because of the hydrophobic interactions and the surface tension, balls(or droplets) of aqueous cleaning fluid forms in an uncontrolled manneron the hydrophobic wafer surface. This formation of droplets results inthe harmful evaporation and the contamination discussed previously. Thelimitations of the SRD are particularly severe at the center of thewafer, where centrifugal force acting on the droplets is the smallest.Consequently, although the SRD process is presently the most common wayof wafer drying, this method can have difficulties reducing formation ofcleaning fluid droplets on the wafer surface especially when used onhydrophobic wafer surfaces.

Therefore, there is a need for a method and an apparatus that avoids theprior art by allowing quick and efficient cleaning and drying of asemiconductor wafer, but at the same time reducing the formation ofnumerous water or cleaning fluid droplets which may cause contaminationto deposit on the wafer surface. Such deposits as often occurs todayreduce the yield of acceptable wafers and increase the cost ofmanufacturing semiconductor wafers.

SUMMARY

Broadly speaking, the present invention fills these needs by providing acleaning and drying apparatus that is capable of removing fluids fromwafer surfaces quickly while at the same time reducing wafercontamination. It should be appreciated that the present invention canbe implemented in numerous ways, including as a process, an apparatus, asystem, a device or a method. Several inventive embodiments of thepresent invention are described below.

In one embodiment, a substrate preparation apparatus is disclosed. Theapparatus includes a housing configured to be installed in a substratefabrication facility. The housing includes a manifold for use inpreparing a wafer surface. The manifold is configured to include a firstprocess window in a first portion of the manifold. A first fluidmeniscus is capable of being defined within the first process window.Further included is a second process window in a second portion of themanifold. A second fluid meniscus is capable of being defined within thesecond process window. An arm is integrated with the housing, and thearm is coupled to the manifold, such that the arm is capable ofpositioning the manifold in proximity with the substrate duringoperation.

In one embodiment, a method for processing a substrate is provided whichincludes generating a fluid meniscus on the surface of the verticallyoriented substrate, and moving the fluid meniscus over the surface ofthe vertically oriented substrate to process the surface of thesubstrate.

In another embodiment, a substrate preparation apparatus to be used insubstrate processing operation is provided which includes arm capable ofvertical movement between a first edge of the substrate to a second edgeof the substrate. The apparatus further includes a head coupled to thearm, the head being capable of forming a fluid meniscus on a surface ofthe substrate and capable of being moved over the surface of thesubstrate.

In yet another embodiment, a manifold for use in preparing a wafersurface is provided. The manifold includes a first process window in afirst portion of the manifold being configured generate a first fluidmeniscus on the wafer surface. The manifold further includes a secondprocess window in a second portion of the manifold being configured togenerate a second fluid meniscus on the wafer surface.

The advantages of the present invention are numerous. Most notably, theapparatuses and methods described herein efficiently dry and clean asemiconductor wafer while reducing fluids and contaminants remaining ona wafer surface. Consequently, wafer processing and production may beincreased and higher wafer yields may be achieved due to efficient waferdrying with lower levels of contamination. The present invention enablesthe improved drying and cleaning through the use of vacuum fluid removalin conjunction with fluid input. The pressures generated on a fluid filmat the wafer surface by the aforementioned forces enable optimal removalof fluid at the wafer surface with a significant reduction in remainingcontamination as compared with other cleaning and drying techniques. Inaddition, the present invention may utilize application of an isopropylalcohol (IPA) vapor and deionized water towards a wafer surface alongwith generation of a vacuum near the wafer surface at substantially thesame time. This enables both the generation and intelligent control of ameniscus and the reduction of water surface tension along a deionizedwater interface and therefore enables optimal removal of fluids from thewafer surface without leaving contaminants. The meniscus generated byinput of IPA, DIW and output of fluids may be moved along the surface ofthe wafer to clean and dry the wafer. The meniscus may be movedvertically from a top portion of the wafer to a bottom portion of thewafer. The up to down drying operation of a vertically oriented waferreduces random water movements because in such a configuration, gravityis the main force generating water movement on the unprocessed portionof the wafer. In addition, the meniscus may be managed more effectivelydue to the known gravitational effects on the meniscus. Therefore, thepresent invention evacuates fluid from wafer surfaces with extremeeffectiveness while substantially reducing contaminant formation due toineffective drying such as for example, spin drying.

Other aspects and advantages of the present invention will becomeapparent from the following detailed description, taken in conjunctionwith the accompanying drawings, illustrating by way of example theprinciples of the present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will be readily understood by the followingdetailed description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Tofacilitate this description, like reference numerals designate likestructural elements.

FIG. 1 illustrates movement of cleaning fluids on a wafer during an SRDdrying process.

FIG. 2A shows a wafer cleaning and drying system in accordance with oneembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2B shows an alternate view of the wafer cleaning and drying systemin accordance with one embodiment of present invention.

FIG. 2C illustrates a side close-up view of the wafer cleaning anddrying system holding a wafer in accordance with one embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 2D shows another side close-up view of the wafer cleaning anddrying system in accordance with one embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 3A shows a top view illustrating the wafer cleaning and dryingsystem with dual proximity heads in accordance with one embodiment ofthe present invention.

FIG. 3B illustrates a side view of the wafer cleaning and drying systemwith dual proximity heads in accordance with one embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 4A shows a top view of a wafer cleaning and drying system whichincludes multiple proximity heads for a particular surface of the waferin accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4B shows a side view of the wafer cleaning and drying system whichincludes multiple proximity heads for a particular surface of the waferin accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5A shows a top view of a wafer cleaning and drying system with aproximity head in a horizontal configuration which extends across adiameter of the wafer 108 in accordance with one embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 5B shows a side view of a wafer cleaning and drying system with theproximity heads in a horizontal configuration which extends across adiameter of the wafer in accordance with one embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 5C shows a top view of a wafer cleaning and drying system with theproximity heads in a horizontal configuration which is configured toclean and/or dry the wafer that is stationary in accordance with oneembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5D shows a side view of a wafer cleaning and drying system with theproximity heads in a horizontal configuration which is configured toclean and/or dry the wafer that is stationary in accordance with oneembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5E shows a side view of a wafer cleaning and drying system with theproximity heads in a vertical configuration enabled to clean and/or drythe wafer that is stationary in accordance with one embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 5F shows an alternate side view of a wafer cleaning and dryingsystem that is shifted 90 degrees from the side view shown in FIG. 5E inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5G shows a top view of a wafer cleaning and drying system with aproximity head in a horizontal configuration which extends across aradius of the wafer in accordance with one embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 5H shows a side view of a wafer cleaning and drying system with theproximity heads and in a horizontal configuration which extends across aradius of the wafer in accordance with one embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 6A shows a proximity head inlet/outlet orientation that may beutilized to clean and dry the wafer in accordance with one embodiment ofthe present invention.

FIG. 6B shows another proximity head inlet/outlet orientation that maybe utilized to clean and dry the wafer in accordance with one embodimentof the present invention.

FIG. 6C shows a further proximity head inlet/outlet orientation that maybe utilized to clean and dry the wafer in accordance with one embodimentof the present invention.

FIG. 6D illustrates a preferable embodiment of a wafer drying processthat may be conducted by a proximity head in accordance with oneembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6E shows another wafer drying process using another sourceinlet/outlet orientation that may be conducted by a proximity head inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6F shows another source inlet and outlet orientation where anadditional source outlet may be utilized to input an additional fluid inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7A illustrates a proximity head performing a drying operation inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7B shows a top view of a portion of a proximity head in accordancewith one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7C illustrates a proximity head with angled source inletsperforming a drying operation in accordance with one embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 7D illustrates a proximity head with angled source inlets andangled source outlets performing a drying operation in accordance withone embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8A illustrates a side view of the proximity heads for use in a dualwafer surface cleaning and drying system in accordance with oneembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8B shows the proximity heads in a dual wafer surface cleaning anddrying system in accordance with one embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 9A illustrates a processing window in accordance with oneembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9B illustrates a substantially circular processing window inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9D illustrates a processing window in accordance with oneembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9C illustrates a processing window in accordance with oneembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10A shows an exemplary process window with the plurality of sourceinlets and as well as the plurality of source outlets in accordance withone embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10B shows processing regions of a proximity head in accordance withone embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11A shows a top view of a proximity head with a substantiallyrectangular shape in accordance with one embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 11B illustrates a side view of the proximity head in accordancewith one embodiment of present invention.

FIG. 11C shows a rear view of the proximity head in accordance with oneembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12A shows a proximity head with a partial rectangular and partialcircular shape in accordance with one embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 12B shows a side view of the proximity head with a partialrectangular and partial circular shape in accordance with one embodimentof the present invention.

FIG. 12C shows a back view of the proximity head with a partialrectangular and partial circular shape in accordance with one embodimentof the present invention.

FIG. 13A shows a rectangular proximity head in accordance with oneembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13B shows a rear view of the proximity head in accordance with oneembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13C illustrates a side view of the proximity head in accordancewith one embodiment of present invention.

FIG. 14A shows a rectangular proximity head in accordance with oneembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 14B shows a rear view of the rectangular proximity head inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 14C illustrates a side view of the rectangular proximity head inaccordance with one embodiment of present invention.

FIG. 15A shows a proximity head in operation according to one embodimentof the present invention.

FIG. 15B illustrates the proximity head as described in FIG. 15A withIPA input in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 15C shows the proximity head as described in FIG. 15B, but with theN₂/IPA flow increased to 24 ml/min in accordance with one embodiment ofthe present invention.

FIG. 15D shows the proximity head where the fluid meniscus is shownwhere the wafer is being rotated in accordance with one embodiment ofthe present invention.

FIG. 15E shows the proximity head where the fluid meniscus is shownwhere the wafer is being rotated faster than the rotation shown in FIG.15D in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 15F shows the proximity head where the N₂/IPA flow has beenincreased as compared to the N₂/IPA flow of FIG. 15D in accordance withone embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 16A illustrates a proximity head beginning a wafer processingoperation where the wafer is scanned vertically in accordance with oneembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 16B illustrates a wafer processing continuing from FIG. 16A wherethe proximity head has started scanning the wafer in accordance with oneembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 16C shows a continuation of a wafer processing operation from FIG.16B in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 16D illustrates the wafer processing operation continued from FIG.16C in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 16E shows the wafer processing operation continued from FIG. 16D inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 16F shows a side view of the proximity heads situated over the topportion of the vertically positioned wafer in accordance with oneembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 16G illustrates a side view of the proximity heads duringprocessing of dual surfaces of the wafer in accordance with oneembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 17A shows a wafer processing system where the wafer is heldstationary in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 17B shows a wafer processing system where the proximity headcarrier may be held in place or moved in accordance with one embodimentof the present invention.

FIG. 17C shows a wafer processing system where the proximity headextends about a radius of the wafer in accordance with one embodiment ofthe present invention.

FIG. 17D shows a wafer processing system where the proximity head movesvertically and the wafer rotates in accordance with one embodiment ofthe present invention.

FIG. 18A shows a proximity head that may be utilized for verticalscanning of a wafer in accordance with one embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 18B shows a side view of the proximity head in accordance with oneembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 18C shows an isometric view of the proximity head in accordancewith one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 19A shows a multi-process window proximity head in accordance withone embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 19B shows a multi-process window proximity head with three processwindows in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

An invention for methods and apparatuses for cleaning and/or drying awafer is disclosed. In the following description, numerous specificdetails are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding ofthe present invention. It will be understood, however, by one ofordinary skill in the art, that the present invention may be practicedwithout some or all of these specific details. In other instances, wellknown process operations have not been described in detail in order notto unnecessarily obscure the present invention.

While this invention has been described in terms of several preferredembodiments, it will be appreciated that those skilled in the art uponreading the preceding specifications and studying the drawings willrealize various alterations, additions, permutations and equivalentsthereof. It is therefore intended that the present invention includesall such alterations, additions, permutations, and equivalents as fallwithin the true spirit and scope of the invention.

FIGS. 2A through 2D below illustrate embodiments of an exemplary waferprocessing system. It should be appreciated that the system isexemplary, and that any other suitable type of configuration that wouldenable movement of the proximity head(s) into close proximity to thewafer may be utilized. In the. embodiments shown, the proximity head(s)may move in a linear fashion from a center portion of the wafer to theedge of the wafer. It should be appreciated that other embodiments maybe utilized where the proximity head(s) move in a linear fashion fromone edge of the wafer to another diametrically opposite edge of thewafer, or other non-linear movements may be utilized such as, forexample, in a radial motion, in a circular motion, in a spiral motion,in a zig-zag motion, etc. The motion may also be any suitable specifiedmotion profile as desired by a user. In addition, in one embodiment, thewafer may be rotated and the proximity head moved in a linear fashion sothe proximity head may process all portions of the wafer. It should alsobe understood that other embodiments may be utilized where the wafer isnot rotated but the proximity head is configured to move over the waferin a fashion that enables processing of all portions of the wafer. Inaddition, the proximity head and the wafer cleaning and drying systemdescribed herein may be utilized to clean and dry any shape and size ofsubstrates such as for example, 200 mm wafers, 300 mm wafers, flatpanels, etc. The wafer cleaning and drying system may be utilized foreither or both cleaning and drying the wafer depending on theconfiguration of the system.

FIG. 2A shows a wafer cleaning and drying system 100 in accordance withone embodiment of the present invention. The system 100 includes rollers102 a, 102 b, and 102 c which may hold and rotate a wafer to enablewafer surfaces to be dried. The system 100 also includes proximity heads106 a and 106 b that, in one embodiment, are attached to an upper arm104 a and to a lower arm 104 b respectively. The upper arm 104 a and thelower arm 104 b are part of a proximity head carrier assembly 104 whichenables substantially linear movement of the proximity heads 106 a and106 b along a radius of the wafer.

In one embodiment the proximity head carrier assembly 104 is configuredto hold the proximity head 106 a above the wafer and the proximity head106 b below the wafer in close proximity to the wafer. This may beaccomplished by having the upper arm 104 a and the lower arm 104 b bemovable in a vertical manner so once the proximity heads are movedhorizontally into a location to start wafer processing, the proximityheads 106 a and 106 b can be moved vertically to a position in closeproximity to the wafer. The upper arm 104 a and the lower arm 104 b maybe configured in any suitable way so the proximity heads 106 a and 106 bcan be moved to enable wafer processing as described herein. It shouldbe appreciated that the system 100 may be configured in any suitablemanner as long as the proximity head(s) may be moved in close proximityto the wafer to generate and control a meniscus as discussed below inreference to FIGS. 6D through 8B. It should also be understood thatclose proximity may be any suitable distance from the wafer as long as ameniscus as discussed in further reference to FIG. 6D through 8B may bemaintained. In one embodiment, the proximity heads 106 a and 106 b (aswell as any other proximity head described herein) may each be moved tobetween about 0.1 mm to about 10 mm from the wafer to initiate waferprocessing operations. In a preferable embodiment, the proximity heads106 a and 106 b (as well as any other proximity head described herein)may each be moved to between about 0.5 mm to about 4.5 mm from the waferto initiate wafer processing operations, and in more preferableembodiment, the proximity heads 106 a and 106 b (as well as any otherproximity head described herein) may be moved to about 2 mm from thewafer to initiate wafer processing operations.

FIG. 2B shows an alternate view of the wafer cleaning and drying system100 in accordance with one embodiment of present invention. The system100, in one embodiment, has the proximity head carrier assembly 104 thatis configured to enable the proximity heads 106 a and 106 b to be movedfrom the center of the wafer towards the edge of the wafer. It should beappreciated that the proximity head carrier assembly 104 may be movablein any suitable manner that would enable movement of the proximity heads106 a and 106 b to clean and/or dry the wafer as desired. In oneembodiment, the proximity head carrier assembly 104 can be motorized tomove the proximity head 106 a and 106 b from the center of the wafer tothe edge of the wafer. It should be understood that although the wafercleaning and drying system 100 is shown with the proximity heads 106 aand 106 b, that any suitable number of proximity heads may be utilizedsuch as, for example, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, etc. The proximity heads 106 aand/or 106 b of the wafer cleaning and drying system 100 may also be anysuitable size or shape as shown by, for example, any of the proximityheads as described herein. The different configurations described hereingenerate a fluid meniscus between the proximity head and the wafer. Thefluid meniscus may be moved across the wafer to clean and dry the waferby applying fluid to the wafer surface and removing the fluids from thesurface. Therefore, the proximity heads 106 a and 106 b can have anynumerous types of configurations as shown herein or other configurationsthat enable the processes described herein. It should also beappreciated that the system 100 may clean and dry one surface of thewafer or both the top surface and the bottom surface of the wafer.

In addition, besides cleaning or drying both the top and bottom surfacesand of the wafer, the system 100 may also be configured to clean oneside of the wafer and dry another side of the wafer if desired byinputting and outputting different types of fluids. It should beappreciated that the system 100 may utilize the application of differentchemicals top and bottom in the proximity heads 106 a and 106 brespectively depending on the operation desired. The proximity heads canbe configured to clean and dry the bevel edge of the wafer in additionto cleaning and/or drying the top and/or bottom of the wafer. This canbe accomplished by moving the meniscus off the edge the wafer whichcleans the bevel edge. It should also be understood that the proximityheads 106 a and 106 b may be the same type of apparatus or differenttypes of proximity heads.

FIG. 2C illustrates a side close-up view of the wafer cleaning anddrying system 100 holding a wafer 108 in accordance with one embodimentof the present invention. The wafer 108 may be held and rotated by therollers 102 a, 102 b, and 102 c in any suitable orientation as long asthe orientation enables a desired proximity head to be in closeproximity to a portion of the wafer 108 that is to be cleaned or dried.In one embodiment, the roller 102 bmay be rotated by using a spindle111, and the roller 102 c may held and rotated by a roller arm 109. Theroller 102 amay also be rotated by its own spindle (as shown in FIG. 3B.In one embodiment, the rollers 102 a, 102 b, and 102 c can rotate in aclockwise direction to rotate the wafer 108 in a counterclockwisedirection. It should be understood that the rollers may be rotated ineither a clockwise or a counterclockwise direction depending on thewafer rotation desired. In one embodiment, the rotation imparted on thewafer 108 by the rollers 102 a, 102 b, and 102 c serves to move a waferarea that has not been processed into close proximity to the proximityheads 106 a and 106 b. However, the rotation itself does not dry thewafer or move fluid on the wafer surfaces towards the edge of the wafer.Therefore, in an exemplary drying operation, the wet areas of the waferwould be presented to the proximity heads 106 a and 106 b through boththe linear motion of the proximity heads 106 a and 106 b and through therotation of the wafer 108. The drying or cleaning operation itself isconducted by at least one of the proximity heads. Consequently, in oneembodiment, a dry area of the wafer 108 would expand from a centerregion to the edge region of the wafer 108 in a spiral movement as adrying operation progresses. In a preferable embodiment, the dry are ofthe wafer 108 would move around the wafer 108 and the wafer 108 would bedry in one rotation (if the length of the proximity heads 106 a and 106b are at least a radius of the wafer 108) By changing the configurationof the system 100 and the orientation of and movement of the proximityhead 106 a and/or the proximity head 106 b, the drying movement may bechanged to accommodate nearly any suitable type of drying path.

It should be understood that the proximity heads 106 a and 106 b may beconfigured to have at least one of first source inlet configured toinput deionized water (DIW) (also known as a DIW inlet), at least one ofa second source inlet configured to input N₂ carrier gas containingisopropyl alcohol (IPA) in vapor form (also known as IPA inlet), and atleast one source outlet configured to output fluids from a regionbetween the wafer and a particular proximity head by applying vacuum(also known as vacuum outlet). It should be appreciated that the vacuumutilized herein may also be suction. In addition, other types ofsolutions may be inputted into the first source inlet and the secondsource inlet such as, for example, cleaning solutions, ammonia, HF, etc.It should be appreciated that although IPA vapor is used in some of theexemplary embodiments, any other type of vapor may be utilized such asfor example, nitrogen, any suitable alcohol vapor, organic compounds,etc. that may be miscible with water.

In one embodiment, the at least one N₂/IPA vapor inlet is adjacent tothe at least one vacuum outlet which is in turn adjacent to the at leastone DIW inlet to form an IPA-vacuum-DIW orientation. It should beappreciated that other types of orientations such as IPA-DIW-vacuum,DIW-vacuum-IPA, vacuum-IPA-DIW, etc. may be utilized depending on thewafer processes desired and what type of wafer cleaning and dryingmechanism is sought to be enhanced. In a preferable embodiment, theIPA-vacuum-DIW orientation may be utilized to intelligently andpowerfully generate, control, and move the meniscus located between aproximity head and a wafer to clean and dry wafers. The DIW inlets, theN₂/IPA vapor inlets, and the vacuum outlets may be arranged in anysuitable manner if the above orientation is maintained. For example, inaddition to the N₂/IPA vapor inlet, the vacuum outlet, and the DIWinlet, in an additional embodiment, there may be additional sets of IPAvapor outlets, DIW inlets and/or vacuum outlets depending on theconfiguration of the proximity head desired. Therefore, anotherembodiment may utilize an IPA-vacuum-DIW-DIW-vacuum-IPA or otherexemplary embodiments with an IPA source inlet, vacuum source outlet,and DIW source inlet configurations are described herein with apreferable embodiment being described in reference to FIG. 6D. It shouldbe appreciated that the exact configuration of the IPA-vacuum-DIWorientation may be varied depending on the application. For example, thedistance between the IPA input, vacuum, and DIW input locations may bevaried so the distances are consistent or so the distances areinconsistent. In addition, the distances between the IPA input, vacuum,and DIW output may differ in magnitude depending on the size, shape, andconfiguration of the proximity head 106 a and the desired size of aprocess window (i.e., meniscus shape and size) as described in furtherdetail in reference to FIG. 10. In addition, as discussed in referenceto FIG. 10, the IPA-vacuum-DIW orientation is configured so a vacuumregion substantially surrounds a DIW region and the IPA regionsubstantially surrounds at least the trailing edge region of the vacuumregion.

FIG. 2D shows another side close-up view of the wafer cleaning anddrying system 100 in accordance with one embodiment of the presentinvention. In this embodiment, the proximity heads 106 a and 106 b havebeen positioned in close proximity to a top surface 108 a and a bottomsurface 108 b of the wafer 108 respectively by utilization of theproximity head carrier assembly 104. Once in this position, theproximity heads 106 a and 106 b may utilize the IPA and DIW sourceinlets and a vacuum source outlet(s) to generate wafer processingmeniscuses in contact with the wafer 108 which are capable of removingfluids from a top surface 108 a and a bottom surface 108 b. The waferprocessing meniscus may be generated in accordance with the descriptionsin reference to FIGS. 6 through 9B where IPA vapor and DIW are inputtedinto the region between the wafer 108 and the proximity heads 106 a and106 b. At substantially the same time the IPA and DIW is inputted, avacuum may be applied in close proximity to the wafer surface to outputthe IPA vapor, the DIW, and the fluids that may be on a wafer surface.It should be appreciated that although IPA is utilized in the exemplaryembodiment, any other suitable type of vapor may be utilized such as forexample, nitrogen, any suitable alcohol vapor, organic compounds,hexanol, ethyl glycol, etc. that may be miscible with water. Thesefluids may also be known as surface tension reducing fluids. The portionof the DIW that is in the region between the proximity head and thewafer is the meniscus. It should be appreciated that as used herein, theterm “output” can refer to the removal of fluid from a region betweenthe wafer 108 and a particular proximity head, and the term “input” canbe the introduction of fluid to the region between the wafer 108 and theparticular proximity head.

In another exemplary embodiment, the proximity heads 106 a and 106 b maybe moved in a manner so all parts of the wafer 108 are cleaned, dried,or both without the wafer 108 being rotated. In such an embodiment, theproximity head carrier assembly 104 may be configured to enable movementof the either one or both of the proximity heads 106 a and 106 b toclose proximity of any suitable region of the wafer 108. In oneembodiment, of the proximity heads are smaller in length than a radiusof the wafer, the proximity heads may be configured to move in a spiralmanner from the center to the edge of the wafer 108 or vice versa. In apreferable embodiment, when the proximity heads are larger in lengththan a radius of the wafer, the proximity heads 106 a and 106 b may bemoved over the entire surface of the wafer in one rotation. In anotherembodiment, the proximity heads 104 a and 104 b may be configured tomove in a linear fashion back and forth across the wafer 108 so allparts of the wafer surfaces 108 a and/or 108 b may be processed. In yetanother embodiment, configurations as discussed below in reference toFIG. 5C through 5H may be utilized. Consequently, countless differentconfigurations of the system 100 may be utilized in order to obtain anoptimization of the wafer processing operation.

FIG. 3A shows a top view illustrating the wafer cleaning and dryingsystem 100 with dual proximity heads in accordance with one embodimentof the present invention. As described above in reference to FIGS. 2A to2D, the upper arm 104 a may be configured to move and hold the proximityhead 106 a in a position in close proximity over the wafer 108. Theupper arm 104 a may also be configured to move the proximity head 106 afrom a center portion of the wafer 108 towards the edge of the wafer 108in a substantially linear fashion 113. Consequently, in one embodiment,as the wafer 108 moves as shown by rotation 112, the proximity head 106a is capable of removing a fluid film from the top surface 108 a of thewafer 108 using a process described in further detail in reference toFIGS. 6 through 8. Therefore, the proximity head 106 a may dry the wafer108 in a substantially spiral path over the wafer 108. In anotherembodiment as shown in reference to FIG. 3B, there may be a secondproximity head located below the wafer 108 to remove a fluid film fromthe bottom surface 108 b of the wafer 108.

FIG. 3B illustrates a side view of the wafer cleaning and drying system100 with dual proximity heads in accordance with one embodiment of thepresent invention. In this embodiment, the system 100 includes both theproximity head 106 a capable of processing a top surface of the wafer108 and the proximity head 106 b capable of processing a bottom surfaceof the wafer 108. In one embodiment, spindles lIla and 111 b along witha roller arm 109 may rotate the rollers 102 a, 102 b, and 102 crespectively. This rotation of the rollers 102 a, 102 b, and 102 c mayrotate the wafer 108 so substantially all surfaces of the wafer 108 maybe presented to the proximity heads 106 a and 106 b for drying and/orcleaning. In one embodiment, while the wafer 108 is being rotated, theproximity heads 106 a and 106 b are brought to close proximity of thewafer surfaces 108 a and 108 b by the arms 104 a and 104 b respectively.Once the proximity heads 106 a and 106 b are brought into closeproximity to the wafer 108, the wafer drying or cleaning may be begun.In operation, the proximity heads 106 a and 106 b may each remove fluidsfrom the wafer 108 by applying IPA, deionized water and vacuum to thetop surface and the bottom surface of the wafer 108 as described inreference to FIG. 6.

In one embodiment, by using the proximity heads 106 a and 106 b, thesystem 100 may dry a 200 mm wafer in less than 45 seconds. In anotherembodiment, where the proximity heads 106 a and 106 b are at least aradius of the wafer in length, the drying time for a wafer may be lessthan 30 seconds. It should be understood that drying or cleaning timemay be decreased by increasing the speed at which the proximity heads106 a and 106 b travels from the center of the wafer 108 to the edge ofthe wafer 108. In another embodiment, the proximity heads 106 a and 106b may be utilized with a faster wafer rotation to dry the wafer 108 inless time. In yet another embodiment, the rotation of the wafer 108 andthe movement of the proximity heads 106 a and 106 b may be adjusted inconjunction to obtain an optimal drying/cleaning speed. In oneembodiment, the proximity heads 106 a and 106 b may move linearly from acenter region of the wafer 108 to the edge of the wafer 108 at betweenabout 0 mm per second to about 50 mm per second.

FIG. 4A shows a top view of a wafer cleaning and drying system 100-1which includes multiple proximity heads for a particular surface of thewafer 108 in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. Inthis embodiment, the system 100-1 includes an upper arm 104 a-1 and anupper arm 104 a-2. As shown in FIG. 4B, the system 100-1 also mayinclude lower arm 104 b-1 and lower arm 104 b-2 connected to proximityheads 106 b-1 and 106 b-2 respectively. In the system 100-1, theproximity heads 106 a-1 and 106 a-2 (as well as 106 b-1 and 106 b-2 iftop and bottom surface processing is being conducted) work inconjunction so, by having two proximity heads processing a particularsurface of the wafer 108, drying time or cleaning time may be cut toabout half of the time. Therefore, in operation, while the wafer 108 isrotated, the proximity heads 106 a-1, 106 a-2, 106 b-1, and 106 b-2start processing the wafer 108 near the center of the wafer 108 and moveoutward toward the edge of the wafer 108 in a substantially linearfashion. In this way, as the rotation 112 of the wafer 108 brings allregions of the wafer 108 in proximity with the proximity heads so as toprocess all parts of the wafer 108. Therefore, with the linear movementof the proximity heads 106 a-1, 106 a-2, 106 b-1, and 106 b-2 and therotational movement of the wafer 108, the wafer surface being driedmoves in a spiral fashion from the center of the wafer 108 to the edgeof the wafer 108.

In another embodiment, the proximity heads 106 a-1 and 106 b-1 may startprocessing the wafer 108 and after they have moved away from the centerregion of the wafer 108, the proximity heads 106 a-2 and 106 b-2 may bemoved into place in the center region of the wafer 108 to augment inwafer processing operations. Therefore, the wafer processing time may bedecreased significantly by using multiple proximity heads to process aparticular wafer surface.

FIG. 4B shows a side view of the wafer cleaning and drying system 100-1which includes multiple proximity heads for a particular surface of thewafer 108 in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. Inthis embodiment, the system 100-1 includes both the proximity heads 106a-1 and 106 a-2 that are capable of processing the top surface 108 a ofthe wafer 108, and proximity heads 106 b-1 and 106 b-2 capable ofprocessing the bottom surface 108 b of the wafer 108. As in the system100, the spindles 111 a and 111 b along with a roller arm 109 may rotatethe rollers 102 a, 102 b, and 102 c respectively. This rotation of therollers 102 a, 102 b, and 102 c may rotate the wafer 108 sosubstantially all surfaces of the wafer 108 may brought in closeproximity to the proximity heads 106 a-1, 106 a-2, 106 b-1, and 106 b-2for wafer processing operations.

In operation, each of the proximity heads 106 a-1, 106 a-2, 106 b-1, and106 b-2 may remove fluids from the wafer 108 by applying IPA, deionizedwater and vacuum to the top surface and the bottom surface of the wafer108 as shown, for example, in FIG. 6 through 8. By having two proximityheads per wafer side, the wafer processing operation (i.e., cleaningand/or drying) may be accomplished in substantially less time. It shouldbe appreciated that as with the wafer processing system described inreference to FIG. 3A and 3B, the speed of the wafer rotation may bevaried to any suitable speed as long as the configuration enables properwafer processing. In one embodiment, the wafer processing time may bedecreased when half a rotation of the wafer 108 is used to dry theentire wafer. In such an embodiment, the wafer processing speed may beabout half of the processing speed when only one proximity head isutilized per wafer side.

FIG. 5A shows a top view of a wafer cleaning and drying system 100-2with a proximity head 106 a-3 in a horizontal configuration whichextends across a diameter of the wafer 108 in accordance with oneembodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the proximityhead 106 a-3 is held by an upper arm 104 a-3 that extends across adiameter of the wafer 108. In this embodiment, the proximity head 106a-3 may be moved into a cleaning/drying position by a vertical movementof the upper arm 104 a-3 so the proximity head 106 a-3 can be in aposition that is in close proximity to the wafer 108. Once the proximityhead 106 a-3 is in close proximity to the wafer 108, the waferprocessing operation of a top surface of the wafer 108 can take place.

FIG. 5B shows a side view of a wafer cleaning and drying system 100-2with the proximity heads 106 a-3 and 106 b-3 in a horizontalconfiguration which extends across a diameter of the wafer 108 inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention. In thisembodiment, the proximity head 106 a-3 and the proximity head 106 b-3both are elongated to be able to span the diameter of the wafer 108. Inone embodiment, while the wafer 108 is being rotated, the proximityheads 106 a-3 and 106 b-3 are brought to close proximity of the wafersurfaces 108 a and 108 b by the top arm 104 a and a bottom arm 106 b-3respectively. Because the proximity heads 106 a-3 and 106 b-3 extendacross the wafer 108, only half of a full rotation may be needed toclean/dry the wafer 108.

FIG. 5C shows a top view of a wafer cleaning and drying system 100-3with the proximity heads 106 a-3 and 106 b-3 in a horizontalconfiguration which is configured to clean and/or dry the wafer 108 thatis stationary in accordance with one embodiment of the presentinvention. In this embodiment, the wafer 108 may be held stationary byany suitable type of wafer holding device such as, for example, an edgegrip, fingers with edge attachments, etc. The proximity head carrierassembly 104′″ is configured to be movable from one edge of the wafer108 across the diameter of the wafer 108 to an edge on the other side ofthe wafer 108 after crossing the entire wafer diameter. In this fashion,the proximity head 106 a-3 and/or the proximity head 106 b-3 (as shownbelow in reference to FIG. 5D) may move across the wafer following apath along a diameter of the wafer 108 from one edge to an oppositeedge. It should be appreciated that the proximity heads 106 a-3 and/or106 b-3 may be move from any suitable manner that would enable movingfrom one edge of the wafer 108 to another diametrically opposite edge.In one embodiment, the proximity head 106 a-3 and/or the proximity head106 b-3 may move in directions 121 (e.g., top to bottom or bottom to topof FIG. 5C). Therefore, the wafer 108 may stay stationary without anyrotation or movement and the proximity heads 106 a-3 and/or theproximity head 106 b-3 may move into close proximity of the wafer and,through one pass over the wafer 108, clean/dry the top and/or bottomsurface of the wafer 108.

FIG. 5D shows a side view of a wafer cleaning and drying system 100-3with the proximity heads 106 a-3 and 106 b-3 in a horizontalconfiguration which is configured to clean and/or dry the wafer 108 thatis stationary in accordance with one embodiment of the presentinvention. In this embodiment, the proximity head 106 a-3 is in ahorizontal position with the wafer 108 also in a horizontal position. Byuse of the proximity head 106 a-3 and the proximity head 106 b-3 thatspans at least the diameter of the wafer 108, the wafer 108 may becleaned and/or dried in one pass by moving proximity heads 106 a-3 and106 b-3 in the direction 121 as discussed in reference to FIG. 5C.

FIG. 5E shows a side view of a wafer cleaning and drying system 100-4with the proximity heads 106 a-3 and 106 b-3 in a vertical configurationenabled to clean and/or dry the wafer 108 that is stationary inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention. In thisembodiment, the proximity heads 106 a-3 and 106 b-3 are in a verticalconfiguration, and the proximity heads 106 a-3 and 106 b-3 areconfigured to move either from left to right, or from right to left,beginning from a first edge of the wafer 108 to a second edge of thewafer 108 that is diametrically opposite to the first edge. Therefore,in such as embodiment, the proximity head carrier assembly 104′″ maymove the proximity heads 104 a-3 and 104 b-3 in close proximity with thewafer 108 and also enable the movement of the proximity heads 104 a-3and 104 b-3 across the wafer from one edge to another so the wafer 108may be processed in one pass thereby decreasing the time to clean and/ordry the wafer 108.

FIG. 5F shows an alternate side view of a wafer cleaning and dryingsystem 100-4 that is shifted 90 degrees from the side view shown in FIG.5E in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. It shouldbe appreciated that the proximity head carrier assembly 104′″ may beoriented in any suitable manner such as for example, having theproximity head carrier assembly 104′″ rotated 180 degrees as comparedwith what is shown in FIG. 5F.

FIG. 5G shows a top view of a wafer cleaning and drying system 100-5with a proximity head 106 a-4 in a horizontal configuration whichextends across a radius of the wafer 108 in accordance with oneembodiment of the present invention. In one embodiment, the proximityhead 106 a-4 extends across less than a radius of a substrate beingprocessed. In another embodiment, the proximity head 106 a-4 may extendthe radius of the substrate being processed. In a preferable embodiment,the proximity head 106 a-4 extends over a radius of the wafer 108 so theproximity head may process both the center point of the wafer 108 aswell as an edge of the wafer 108 so the proximity head 106 a-4 can coverand process the center point of the wafer and the edge of the wafer. Inthis embodiment, the proximity head 106 a-4 may be moved into acleaning/drying position by a vertical movement of the upper arm 104 a-4so the proximity head 106 a-4 can be in a position that is in closeproximity to the wafer 108. Once the proximity head 106 a-4 is in closeproximity to the wafer 108, the wafer processing operation of a topsurface of the wafer 108 can take place. Because, in one embodiment, theproximity head 106 a-4 extends over the radius of the wafer, the wafermay be cleaned and/or dried in one rotation.

FIG. 5H shows a side view of a wafer cleaning and drying system 100-5with the proximity heads 106 a-4 and 106 b-4 in a horizontalconfiguration which extends across a radius of the wafer 108 inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention. In thisembodiment, the proximity head 106 a-4 and the proximity head 106 b-4both are elongated to be able to extend over and beyond the radius ofthe wafer 108. As discussed in reference to FIG. 5G, depending on theembodiment desired, the proximity head 106 a-4 may extend less than aradius, exactly a radius, or greater than a radius of the wafer 108. Inone embodiment, while the wafer 108 is being rotated, the proximityheads 106 a-4 and 106 b-4 are brought to close proximity of the wafersurfaces 108 a and 108 b by the top arm 104 a and a bottom arm 106 b-4respectively. Because in one embodiment, the proximity heads 106 a-4and106 b-4 extend across greater than the radius of the wafer 108, only afull rotation may be needed to clean/dry the wafer 108.

FIG. 6A shows a proximity head inlet/outlet orientation 117 that may beutilized to clean and dry the wafer 108 in accordance with oneembodiment of the present invention. In one embodiment, the orientation117 is a portion of a proximity head 106 a where other source inlets 302and 306 in addition to other source outlets 304 may be utilized inaddition to the orientation 117 shown. The orientation 117 may include asource inlet 306 on a leading edge 109 with a source outlet 304 inbetween the source inlet 306 and the source outlet 302.

FIG. 6B shows another proximity head inlet/outlet orientation 119 thatmay be utilized to clean and dry the wafer 108 in accordance with oneembodiment of the present invention. In one embodiment, the orientation119 is a portion of a proximity head 106 a where other source inlets 302and 306 in addition to other source outlets 304 may be utilized inaddition to the orientation 119 shown. The orientation 119 may include asource outlet 304 on a leading edge 109 with a source inlet 302 inbetween the source outlet 304 and the source inlet 306.

FIG. 6C shows a further proximity head inlet/outlet orientation 121 thatmay be utilized to clean and dry the wafer 108 in accordance with oneembodiment of the present invention. In one embodiment, the orientation121 is a portion of a proximity head 106 a where other source inlets 302and 306 in addition to other source outlets 304 may be utilized inaddition to the orientation 119 shown. The orientation 119 may include asource inlet 306 on a leading edge 109 with a source inlet 302 inbetween the source outlet 304 and the source outlet 306.

FIG. 6D illustrates a preferable embodiment of a wafer drying processthat may be conducted by a proximity head 106 a in accordance with oneembodiment of the present invention. Although FIG. 6 shows a top surface108 a being dried, it should be appreciated that the wafer dryingprocess may be accomplished in substantially the same way for the bottomsurface 108 b of the wafer 108. In one embodiment, a source inlet 302may be utilized to apply isopropyl alcohol (IPA) vapor toward a topsurface 108 a of the wafer 108, and a source inlet 306 may be utilizedto apply deionized water (DIW) toward the top surface 108 a of the wafer108. In addition, a source outlet 304 may be utilized to apply vacuum toa region in close proximity to the wafer surface to remove fluid orvapor that may located on or near the top surface 108 a. It should beappreciated that any suitable combination of source inlets and sourceoutlets may be utilized as long as at least one combination exists whereat least one of the source inlet 302 is adjacent to at least one of thesource outlet 304 which is in turn adjacent to at least one of thesource inlet 306. The IPA may be in any suitable form such as, forexample, IPA vapor where IPA in vapor form is inputted through use of aN₂ gas. Moreover, although DIW is utilized herein, any other suitablefluid may be utilized that may enable or enhance the wafer processingsuch as, for example, water purified in other ways, cleaning fluids,etc. In one embodiment, an IPA inflow 310 is provided through the sourceinlet 302, a vacuum 312 may be applied through the source outlet 304 andDIW inflow 314 may be provided through the source inlet 306. Therefore,an embodiment of the IPA-vacuum-DIW orientation as described above inreference to FIG. 2 is utilized. Consequently, if a fluid film resideson the wafer 108, a first fluid pressure may be applied to the wafersurface by the IPA inflow 310, a second fluid pressure may be applied tothe wafer surface by the DIW inflow 314, and a third fluid pressure maybe applied by the vacuum 312 to remove the DIW, IPA and the fluid filmon the wafer surface.

Therefore, in one embodiment, as the DIW inflow 314 and the IPA inflow310 is applied toward a wafer surface, any fluid on the wafer surface isintermixed with the DIW inflow 314. At this time, the DIW inflow 314that is applied toward the wafer surface encounters the IPA inflow 310.The IPA forms an interface 118 (also known as an IPA/DIW interface 118)with the DIW inflow 314 and along with the vacuum 312 assists in theremoval of the DIW inflow 314 along with any other fluid from thesurface of the wafer 108. In one embodiment, the IPA/DIW interface 118reduces the surface of tension of the DIW. In operation, the DIW isapplied toward the wafer surface and almost immediately removed alongwith fluid on the wafer surface by the vacuum applied by the sourceoutlet 304. The DIW that is applied toward the wafer surface and for amoment resides in the region between a proximity head and the wafersurface along with any fluid on the wafer surface forms a meniscus 116where the borders of the meniscus 116 are the IPA/DIW interfaces 118.Therefore, the meniscus 116 is a constant flow of fluid being appliedtoward the surface and being removed at substantially the same time withany fluid on the wafer surface. The nearly immediate removal of the DIWfrom the wafer surface prevents the formation of fluid droplets on theregion of the wafer surface being dried thereby reducing the possibilityof contamination drying on the wafer 108. The pressure (which is causedby the flow rate of the IPA) of the downward injection of IPA also helpscontain the meniscus 116.

The flow rate of the N2 carrier gas containing the IPA may assist incausing a shift or a push of water flow out of the region between theproximity head and the wafer surface and into the source outlets 304(suction outlets) through which the fluids may be outputted from theproximity head. It is noted that the push of wafer flow is not a processrequirement but can be used to optimize meniscus boundary control.Therefore, as the IPA and the DIW is pulled into the source outlets 304,the boundary making up the IPA/DIW interface 118 is not a continuousboundary because gas (e.g., air) is being pulled into the source outlets304 along with the fluids. In one embodiment, as the vacuum from thesource outlet 304 pulls the DIW, IPA, and the fluid on the wafersurface, the flow into the source outlet 304 is discontinuous. This flowdiscontinuity is analogous to fluid and gas being pulled up through astraw when a vacuum is exerted on combination of fluid and gas.Consequently, as the proximity head 106 a moves, the meniscus movesalong with the proximity head, and the region previously occupied by themeniscus has been dried due to the movement of the IPA/DIW interface118. It should also be understood that the any suitable number of sourceinlets 302, source outlets 304 and source inlets 306 may be utilizeddepending on the configuration of the apparatus and the meniscus sizeand shape desired. In another embodiment, the liquid flow rates and thevacuum flow rates are such that the total liquid flow into the vacuumoutlet is continuous, so no gas flows into the vacuum outlet.

It should be appreciated any suitable flow rate may be utilized for theN₂/IPA, DIW, and vacuum as long as the meniscus 116 can be maintained.In one embodiment, the flow rate of the DIW through a set of the sourceinlets 306 is between about 25 ml per minute to about 3,000 ml perminute. In a preferable embodiment, the flow rate of the DIW through theset of the source inlets 306 is about 400 ml per minute. It should beunderstood that the flow rate of fluids may vary depending on the sizeof the proximity head. In one embodiment a larger head may have agreater rate of fluid flow than smaller proximity heads. This may occurbecause larger proximity heads, in one embodiment, have more sourceinlets 302 and 306 and source outlets 304.

In one embodiment, the flow rate of the N₂/IPA vapor through a set ofthe source inlets 302 is between about 1 standard cubic feet per hour(SCFH) to about 100 SCFH. In a preferable embodiment, the IPA flow rateis between about 5 and 50 SCFH.

In one embodiment, the flow rate for the vacuum through a set of thesource outlets 304 is between about 10 standard cubic feet per hour(SCFH) to about 1250 SCFH. In a preferable embodiment, the flow rate fora vacuum though the set of the source outlets 304 is about 350 SCFH. Inan exemplary embodiment, a flow meter may be utilized to measure theflow rate of the N₂/IPA, DIW, and the vacuum.

FIG. 6E shows another wafer drying process using another sourceinlet/outlet orientation that may be conducted by a proximity head 106 ain accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. In thisembodiment, the proximity head 106 a may be moved over the top surface108 a of the wafer 108 so the meniscus may be moved along the wafersurface 108 a. The meniscus applies fluid to the wafer surface andremoves fluid from the wafer surface thereby cleaning and drying thewafer simultaneously. In this embodiment, the source inlet 306 applies aDIW flow 314 toward the wafer surface 108 a, the source inlet 302applies IPA flow 310 toward the wafer surface 108 a, and the sourceoutlet 312 removes fluid from the wafer surface 108 a. It should beappreciated that in this embodiment as well as other embodiments of theproximity head 106 a described herein, additional numbers and types ofsource inlets and source outlets may be used in conjunction with theorientation of the source inlets 302 and 306 and the source outlets 304shown in FIG. 6E. In addition, in this embodiment as well as otherproximity head embodiments, by controlling the amount of flow of fluidsonto the wafer surface 108 a and by controlling the vacuum applied, themeniscus may be managed and controlled in any suitable manner. Forexample, in one embodiment, by increasing the DIW flow 314 and/ordecreasing the vacuum 312, the outflow through the source outlet 304 maybe nearly all DIW and the fluids being removed from the wafer surface108 a. In another embodiment, by decreasing the DIW flow 314 and/orincreasing the vacuum 312, the outflow through the source outlet 304 maybe substantially a combination of DIW and air as well as fluids beingremoved from the wafer surface 108 a.

FIG. 6F shows another source inlet and outlet orientation where anadditional source outlet 307 may be utilized to input an additionalfluid in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. Theorientation of inlets and outlets as shown in FIG. 6E is the orientationdescribed in further detail in reference to FIG. 6D except theadditional source outlet 307 is included adjacent to the source inlet306 on a side opposite that of the source outlet 304. In such anembodiment, DIW may be inputted through the source inlet 306 while adifferent solution such as, for example, a cleaning solution may beinputted through the source inlet 307. Therefore, a cleaning solutionflow 315 may be utilized to enhance cleaning of the wafer 108 while atsubstantially the same time drying the top surface 108 a of the wafer108.

FIG. 7A illustrates a proximity head 106 performing a drying operationin accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. Theproximity head 106, in one embodiment, moves while in close proximity tothe top surface 108 a of the wafer 108 to conduct a cleaning and/ordrying operation. It should be appreciated that the proximity head 106may also be utilized to process (e.g., clean, dry, etc.) the bottomsurface 108 b of the wafer 108. In one embodiment, the wafer 108 isrotating so the proximity head 106 may be moved in a linear fashionalong the head motion while fluid is removed from the top surface 108 a.By applying the IPA 310 through the source inlet 302, the vacuum 312through source outlet 304, and the deionized water 314 through thesource inlet 306, the meniscus 116 as discussed in reference to FIG. 6may be generated.

FIG. 7B shows a top view of a portion of a proximity head 106 inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention. In the top viewof one embodiment, from left to right are a set of the source inlet 302,a set of the source outlet 304, a set of the source inlet 306, a set ofthe source outlet 304, and a set of the source inlet 302. Therefore, asN₂/IPA and DIW are inputted into the region between the proximity head106 and the wafer 108, the vacuum removes the N₂/IPA and the DIW alongwith any fluid film that may reside on the wafer 108. The source inlets302, the source inlets 306, and the source outlets 304 described hereinmay also be any suitable type of geometry such as for example, circularopening, triangle opening, square opening, etc. In one embodiment, thesource inlets 302 and 306 and the source outlets 304 have circularopenings.

FIG. 7C illustrates a proximity head 106 with angled source inlets 302′performing a drying operation in accordance with one embodiment of thepresent invention. It should be appreciated that the source inlets 302′and 306 and the source outlet(s) 304 described herein may be angled inany suitable way to optimize the wafer cleaning and/or drying process.In one embodiment, the angled source inlets 302′ that input IPA vaporonto the wafer 108 is angled toward the source inlets 306 such that theIPA vapor flow is directed to contain the meniscus 116.

FIG. 7D illustrates a proximity head 106 with angled source inlets 302′and angled source outlets 304′ performing a drying operation inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention. It should beappreciated that the source inlets 302′ and 306 and the angled sourceoutlet(s) 304′ described herein may be angled in any suitable way tooptimize the wafer cleaning and/or drying process.

In one embodiment, the angled source inlets 302′ that input IPA vaporonto the wafer 108 is angled at an angle θ₅₀₀ toward the source inlets306 such that the IPA vapor flow is directed to contain the meniscus116. The angled source outlet 304′ may, in one embodiment, be angled atan angle θ₅₀₀ towards the meniscus 116. It should be appreciated thatthe angle θ₅₀₀ and the angle θ₅₀₂ may be any suitable angle that wouldoptimize the management and control of the meniscus 116. In oneembodiment, the angle θ₅₀₀ is greater than 0 degrees and less than 90degrees , and the angle θ₅₀₂ is greater than 0 degrees and less than 90degrees . In a preferable embodiment, the angle θ₅₀₀ is about 15degrees, and in another preferable embodiment, the angle angled at anangle θ₅₀₂ is about 15 degrees . The angle θ₅₀₀ and the angle θ₅₀₂adjusted in any suitable manner to optimize meniscus management. In oneembodiment, the angle θ₅₀₀ and the angle θ₅₀₂ may be the same, and inanother embodiment, the angle angle θ₅₀₀ and the angle θ₅₀₂ may bedifferent. By angling the angled source inlet(s) 302′ and/or angling theangled source outlet(s) 304′, the border of the meniscus may be moreclearly defined and therefore control the drying and/or cleaning thesurface being processed.

FIG. 8A illustrates a side view of the proximity heads 106 and 106 b foruse in a dual wafer surface cleaning and drying system in accordancewith one embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, byusage of source inlets 302 and 306 to input N₂/IPA and DIW respectivelyalong with the source outlet 304 to provide a vacuum, the meniscus 116may be generated. In addition, on the side of the source inlet 306opposite that of the source inlet 302, there may be a source outlet 304to remove DIW and to keep the meniscus 116 intact. As discussed above,in one embodiment, the source inlets 302 and 306 may be utilized for IPAinflow 310 and DIW inflow 314 respectively while the source outlet 304may be utilized to apply vacuum 312. It should be appreciated that anysuitable configuration of source inlets 302, source outlets 304 andsource inlets 306 may be utilized. For example, the proximity heads 106and 106 b may have a configuration of source inlets and source outletslike the configuration described above in reference to FIG. 7A and 7B.In addition, in yet more embodiments, the proximity heads 106 and 106 bmay be of a configuration as shown below in reference to FIGS. 9 through15. Any suitable surface coming into contact with the meniscus 116 maybe dried by the movement of the meniscus 116 into and away from thesurface.

FIG. 8B shows the proximity heads 106 and 106 b in a dual wafer surfacecleaning and drying system in accordance with one embodiment of thepresent invention. In this embodiment, the proximity head 106 processesthe top surface 108 a of the wafer 108, and the proximity head 106 bprocesses the bottom surface of 108 b of the wafer 108. By the inputtingof the N₂/IPA and the DIW by the source inlets 302 and 306 respectively,and by use of the vacuum from the source outlet 304, the meniscus 116may be formed between the proximity head 106 and the wafer 108 andbetween the proximity head 106 b and the wafer 108. The proximity heads106 and 106 b, and therefore the meniscus 116, may be moved over the wetareas of the wafer surface in an manner so the entire wafer 108 can becleaned and/or dried.

FIG. 9A illustrates a processing window 538-1 in accordance with oneembodiment of the present invention. In one embodiment, the processingwindow 538-1 may include a plurality of source inlets 302 and 306 andalso a plurality of source outlets 304. The processing window 538-1 is aregion on a proximity head 106 (or any other proximity head referencedherein) that may generate and control the shape and size of the meniscus116. Therefore, the processing window 538-1 may be a region that driesand/or cleans a wafer if the proximity head 106 is desired to be used inthat manner. In one embodiment, the processing window 538-1 is asubstantially rectangular shape. It should be appreciated that the sizeof the processing window 538-1 (or any other suitable processing windowdescribed herein) may be any suitable length and width (as seen from atop view).

FIG. 9B illustrates a substantially circular processing window 538-2 inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention. In oneembodiment, the processing window 538-2 may include a plurality ofsource inlets 302 and 306 and also a plurality of source outlets 304.The processing window 538-2 is a region on the proximity head 106 (orany other proximity head referenced herein) that may generate andcontrol the meniscus 116. Therefore, the processing window 538-2 may bea region that dries and/or cleans a wafer if the proximity head 106 isdesired to be used in that manner. In one embodiment, the processingwindow 538-2 is a substantially circular shape.

FIG. 9C illustrates a processing window 538-3 in accordance with oneembodiment of the present invention. In one embodiment, the processingwindow 538-3 may include a plurality of source inlets 302 and 306 andalso a plurality of source outlets 304. The processing window 538-3 is aregion on the proximity head 106 (or any other proximity head referencedherein) that may generate and control the meniscus 116. Therefore, theprocessing window 538-3 may be a region that dries and/or cleans a waferif the proximity head 106 is desired to be used in that manner. In oneembodiment, the processing window 538-3 is a substantially oval inshape.

FIG. 9D illustrates a processing window 538-4 in accordance with oneembodiment of the present invention. In one embodiment, the processingwindow 538-4 may include a plurality of source inlets 302 and 306 andalso a plurality of source outlets 304. The processing window 538-4 is aregion on the proximity head 106 (or any other proximity head referencedherein) that may generate and control the meniscus 116. Therefore, theprocessing window 538-4 may be a region that dries and/or cleans a waferif the proximity head 106 is desired to be used in that manner. In oneembodiment, the processing window 538-4 is a substantially square shape.

FIG. 10A shows an exemplary process window 538-1 with the plurality ofsource inlets 302 and 306 as well as the plurality of source outlets 304in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. In oneembodiment, the process window 538-1 in operation may be moved indirection 546 across a wafer during, for example, a wafer dryingoperation. In such an embodiment, a proximity head 106 may encounterfluids on a wafer surface on a leading edge region 548. The leading edgeregion 548 is an area of the proximity head 106 that, in a dryingprocess, encounters fluids first. Conversely a trailing edge region 560is an area of the proximity head 106 that encounters the area beingprocessed last. As the proximity head 106 and the process window 538-1included therein move across the wafer in the direction 546, the wetarea of the wafer surface enter the process window 538-1 through theleading edge region 548. Then after processing of the wet region of thewafer surface by the meniscus that is generated and controllablymaintained and managed by the process window 538-1, the wet region isdried and the dried region of the wafer (or substrate) leaves theprocess window 538-1 through a trailing edge region 560 of the proximityhead 106. As discussed in reference to FIGS. 9A through 9D, the processwindow 538-1 may be any suitable shape such as, for example,rectangular, square, circular, oval, semi-circular, etc.

FIG. 10B shows processing regions 540, 542, and 544 of a proximity head106 in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. In oneembodiment, the processing regions 540, 542, and 544 (the regions beingshown by the broken lines) make up the processing window as discussed inreference to FIG. 10A. It should be appreciated that the processingregions 540, 542, and 544 may be any suitable size and/or shape such as,for example, circular, ring, semi-circular, square, semi-square, freeform, etc. as long as a stable and controllable fluid meniscus can begenerated that can apply and remove fluids from a surface in anefficient manner. In one embodiment, the processing region 540 includesthe plurality of source inlets 302, the processing region 542 (alsoknown as a vacuum ring) includes the plurality of source outlets 304,and the processing region 544 includes the plurality of source inlets306. In a preferable embodiment, the region 542 surrounds (orsubstantially surrounds) the region 544 with a ring of source outlets304 (e.g., a vacuum ring). The region 540 substantially surrounds theregion 544 but has an opening 541 where there are no source inlets 302exist on a leading edge side of the process window 538-1. In yet anotherembodiment, the region 540 forms a semi-enclosure around the region 542.The opening in the semi-enclosure leads in the direction of thescanning/processing by the head 106. Therefore, in one embodiment, theproximity head 106 can supply a first fluid to a first region of thewafer surface from the region 544 and surround the first region of thewafer with a vacuum region using the region 542. The proximity head 106can also semi-enclose the vacuum region with an applied surface tensionreducing fluid applied from the region 540. In such as embodiment, thesemi-enclosing generates an opening that leads to the vacuum region.

Therefore, in operation, the proximity head 106 generates a fluidmeniscus by application of N₂/IPA, DIW, and vacuum, in the regions 540,542, and 544 in the process window 538 (as shown in FIG. 10A). When theproximity head 106 is moving over the wafer surface in an exemplarydrying operation, the wafer surface that moves through the opening 541in the region 542 and contacts the meniscus 116 within the processwindow 538 is dried. The drying occurs because fluid that is on thatportion of the wafer surface that contacts the meniscus 116 is removedas the meniscus moves over the surface. Therefore, wet surfaces of awafer may enter the process window 538 through the opening 541 in theregion 540 and by contacting the fluid meniscus may undergo a dryingprocess.

It should be appreciated that although the plurality of source inlets302, the plurality of source inlets 306, and the plurality of sourceoutlets 304 are shown in this embodiment, other embodiments may beutilized where any suitable number of the source inlets 302, the sourceinlets 306, and the source outlets 304 may be utilized as long as theconfiguration and number of the plurality of source inlets 302, thesource inlets 306, and the source outlets 306 may generate a stable,controllable fluid meniscus that can dry a surface of a substrate.

FIGS. 11 through 14 illustrate exemplary embodiments of the proximityhead 106. It should be appreciated any of the different embodiments ofthe proximity head 106 described may be used as one or both of theproximity heads 106 a and 106 b described above in reference to FIGS. 2Athrough 5H. As shown by the exemplary figures that follow, the proximityhead may be any suitable configuration or size that may enable the fluidremoval process as described in FIGS. 6 to 10. Therefore, any, some, orall of the proximity heads described herein may be utilized in anysuitable wafer cleaning and drying system such as, for example, thesystem 100 or a variant thereof as described in reference to FIGS. 2A to2D. In addition, the proximity head may also have any suitable numbersor shapes of source outlets 304 and source inlets 302 and 306. It shouldbe appreciated that the side of the proximity heads shown from a topview is the side that comes into close proximity with the wafer toconduct wafer processing. All of the proximity heads described in FIGS.11 through 14 are manifolds that enable usage of the IPA-vacuum-DIWorientation in a process window or a variant thereof as described abovein reference to FIGS. 2 through 10. The embodiments of the proximityhead 106 as described below in reference to FIGS. 11 through 14 all haveembodiments of the process window 538, and regions 540, 542, and 544 asdescribed in reference to FIGS. 9A through 10B above. In addition, theproximity heads described herein may be utilized for either cleaning ordrying operations depending on the fluid that is inputted and outputtedfrom the source inlets 302 and 306, and the source outlets 304. Inaddition, the proximity heads described herein may have multiple inletlines and multiple outlet lines with the ability to control the relativeflow rates of liquid and/or vapor and/or gas through the outlets andinlets. It should be appreciated that every group of source inlets andsource outlets can have independent control of the flows.

It should be appreciated that the size as well as the locations of thesource inlets and outlets may be varied as long as the meniscus producedis stable. In one embodiment, the size of the openings to source inlets302, source outlets 304, and source inlets 306 are between about 0.02inch and about 0.25 inch in diameter. In a preferable embodiment, thesize of the openings of the source inlets 306 and the source outlets 304is about 0.06 inch, and the size of the openings of the source inlets302 is about 0.03 inch.

In one embodiment the source inlets 302 and 306 in addition to thesource outlets 304 are spaced about 0.03 inch and about 0.5 inch apart.In a preferable embodiment, the source inlets 306 are spaced 0.125 inchapart from each other and the source outlets 304 are spaced 0.125 inchapart and the source inlets 302 are spaced about 0.06 inch apart. In oneembodiment, the source inlets 302, the source outlets 304 may becombined in the form of one or more slots or channels rather thanmultiple openings. By way of example, the source outlets 304 may becombined in the form of one or more channels that at least partiallysurrounds the area of the source outlets 306 for the portion of themeniscus. Similarly, the IPA outlets 302 can be combined into one ormore channels that lie outside the area of the source inlets 304. Thesource outlets 306 can also be combined into one or more channels.

Additionally, the proximity heads may not necessarily be a “head” inconfiguration but may be any suitable configuration, shape, and/or sizesuch as, for example, a manifold, a circular puck, a bar, a square, anoval puck, a tube, plate, etc., as long as the source inlets 302, and306, and the source outlets 304 may be configured in a manner that wouldenable the generation of a controlled, stable, manageable fluidmeniscus. A single proximity head can also include sufficient sourceinlets 302 and 306, and the source outlets 304 such that the singleproximity head can also support multiple meniscuses. The multiplemeniscuses can simultaneously perform separate functions (e.g., etch,rinse, and drying processes). In a preferable embodiment, the proximityhead may be a type of manifold as described in reference to FIG. 10Athrough 14C. The size of the proximity heads may be varied to anysuitable size depending on the application desired. In one embodiment,the length (from a top view showing the process window) of the proximityheads may be between 1.0 inch to about 18.0 inches and the width (from atop view showing the process window) may be between about 0.5 inch toabout 6.0 inches. Also when the proximity head may be optimized toprocess any suitable size of wafers such as, for example, 200 mm wafers,300, wafers, etc. The process windows of the proximity heads may bearranged in any suitable manner as long as such a configuration maygenerate a controlled stable and manageable fluid meniscus.

FIG. 11A shows a top view of a proximity head 106-1 with a substantiallyrectangular shape in accordance with one embodiment of the presentinvention. In this embodiment, the proximity head 106-1 includes threeof the source inlets 302 which, in one embodiment, applies IPA to asurface of the wafer 108.

In this embodiment, the source inlets 302 are capable of applying IPAtoward a wafer surface region, the source inlets 306 are capable ofapplying DIW toward the wafer surface region, and the source outlets 304are capable of applying vacuum to a region in close proximity of asurface of the wafer 108. By the application of the vacuum, the IPA,DIW, and any other type of fluids that may reside on a wafer surface maybe removed.

The proximity head 106-1 also includes ports 342 a, 342 b, and 342 cthat, in one embodiment, correspond to the source inlet 302, sourceoutlet 304, and source inlet 306 respectively. By inputting or removingfluid through the ports 342 a, 342 b, and 342 c, fluids may be inputtedor outputted through the source inlet 302, the source outlet 304, andthe source inlet 306. Although the ports 342 a, 342 b, and 342 ccorrespond with the source inlet 302, the source outlet 304, and thesource inlet 306 in this exemplary embodiment, it should be appreciatedthat the ports 342 a, 342 b, and 342 c may supply or remove fluid fromany suitable source inlet or source outlet depending on theconfiguration desired. Because of the configuration of the source inlets302 and 306 with the source outlets 304, the meniscus 116 may be formedbetween the proximity head 106-1 and the wafer 108. The shape of themeniscus 116 may vary depending on the configuration and dimensions ofthe proximity head 106-1.

It should be appreciated that the ports 342 a, 342 b, and 342 c for anyof the proximity heads described herein may be any suitable orientationand dimension as long as a stable meniscus can be generated andmaintained by the source inlets 302, source outlets 304, and sourceinlets 306. The embodiments of the ports 342 a, 342 b, and 342 cdescribed herein may be applicable to any of the proximity headsdescribed herein. In one embodiment, the port size of the ports 342 a,342 b, and 342 c may be between about 0.03 inch and about 0.25 inch indiameter. In a preferable embodiment, the port size is about 0.06 inchto 0.18 inch in diameter. In one embodiment, the distance between theports is between about 0.125 inch and about 1 inch apart. In apreferable embodiment, the distance between the ports is between about0.25 inch and about 0.37 inch apart.

FIG. 11B illustrates a side view of the proximity head 106-1 inaccordance with one embodiment of present invention. The proximity head106-1 includes the ports 342 a, 342 b, and 342 c. In one embodiment, theports 342 a, 342 b, and 342 c feed source inlets 302, source outlets304, and the source inlets 306 respectively. It should be understoodthat the ports may be any suitable number, size, or shape as long as thesource inlets 302 and 306 as well as source outlets 304 may be utilizedto generate, maintain, and manage the meniscus 116.

FIG. 11C shows a rear view of the proximity head 106-1 in accordancewith one embodiment of the present invention. The rear view of theproximity head 106-1, in one embodiment, corresponds to the leading edge548 of the proximity head 106-1. It should be appreciated that theproximity head 106-1 is exemplary in nature and may be any suitabledimension as long as the source inlets 302 and 306 as well as the sourceoutlet 304 are configured in a manner to enable cleaning and/or dryingof the wafer 108 in the manner described herein. In one embodiment, theproximity head 106-1 includes the input ports 342 c which may feed fluidto at least some of the source inlets 302 a which run parallel to theinput ports 342 c shown in FIG. 11C.

FIG. 12A shows a proximity head 106-2 with a partial rectangular andpartial circular shape in accordance with one embodiment of the presentinvention. In this embodiment, the proximity head 106-2 includes one rowof source inlets 306 that is adjacent on both sides to rows of sourceoutlets 304. One of the rows of source outlets 304 is adjacent to tworows of source inlets 302. Perpendicular to and at the ends of the rowsdescribed above are rows of source outlets 304.

FIG. 12B shows a side view of the proximity head 106-2 with a partialrectangular and partial circular shape in accordance with one embodimentof the present invention. In one embodiment, the proximity head 106-2includes ports 342 a, 342 b, and 342 c on a side of the proximity head106-2. The ports 342 a, 342 b, and 342 c may be utilized to input and/oroutput fluids through the source inlets 302 and 306 and the sourceoutlets 304. In one embodiment, the ports 342 a, 342 b, and 342 ccorrespond to the source inlets 302, the source outlets 304, and thesource inlets 306 respectively.

FIG. 12C shows a back view of the proximity head 106-2 with a partialrectangular and partial circular shape in accordance with one embodimentof the present invention. The back side as shown by the rear view iswhere the back side is the square end of the proximity head 106-2.

FIG. 13A shows a rectangular proximity head 106-3 in accordance with oneembodiment of the present invention. In one embodiment, the proximityhead 106-3 includes a configuration of source inlets 302 and 306 andsource outlets 304′ that is similar to the proximity head 106-1 asdiscussed in reference to FIG. 11A. The rectangular proximity head 106-3includes the source outlets 304′ that are larger in diameter than thesource outlets 304. In any of the proximity heads described herein, thediameter of the source inlets 302 and 306 as well as the source outlets304 may be altered so meniscus generation, maintenance, and managementmay be optimized. In this embodiment, the source inlets 302 are capableof applying IPA toward a wafer surface region, the source inlets 306 arecapable of applying DIW toward the wafer surface region, and the sourceoutlets 304 are capable of applying vacuum to a region in closeproximity of a surface of the wafer 108. By the application of thevacuum, the IPA, DIW, and any other type of fluids that may reside on awafer surface may be removed.

The proximity head 106-3 also includes ports 342 a, 342 b, and 342 cthat, in one embodiment, correspond to the source inlet 302, sourceoutlet 304, and source inlet 306 respectively. By inputting or removingfluid through the ports 342 a, 342 b, and 342 c, fluids may be inputtedor outputted through the source inlet 302, the source outlet 304, andthe source inlet 306. Although the ports 342 a, 342 b, and 342 ccorrespond with the source inlet 302, the source outlet 304, and thesource inlet 306 in this exemplary embodiment, it should be appreciatedthat the ports 342 a, 342 b, and 342 c may supply or remove fluid fromany suitable source inlet or source outlet depending on theconfiguration desired. Because of the configuration of the source inlets302 and 306 with the source outlets 304, the meniscus 116 may be formedbetween the proximity head 106-1 and the wafer 108. The shape of themeniscus 116 may vary depending on the configuration and dimensions ofthe proximity head 106-1.

It should be appreciated that the ports 342 a, 342 b, and 342 c for anyof the proximity heads described herein may be any suitable orientationand dimension as long as a stable meniscus can be generated andmaintained by the source inlets 302, source outlets 304, and sourceinlets 306. The embodiments of the ports 342 a, 342 b, and 342 cdescribed in relation to the proximity head 106-1 may be applicable toany of the proximity heads described in reference to the other Figures.In one embodiment, the port size of the ports 342 a, 342 b, and 342 cmay be between about 0.03 inch and about 0.25 inch in diameter. In apreferable embodiment, the port size is about 0.06 inch to 0.18 inch indiameter. In one embodiment, the distance between the ports is betweenabout 0.125 inch and about 1 inch apart. In a preferable embodiment, thedistance between the ports is between about 0.25 inch and about 0.37inch apart.

FIG. 13B shows a rear view of the proximity head 106-3 in accordancewith one embodiment of the present invention. The rear view of theproximity head 106-3, in one embodiment, corresponds to the leading edge548 of the proximity head 106-3. It should be appreciated that theproximity head 106-3 is exemplary in nature and may be any suitabledimension as long as the source inlets 302 and 306 as well as the sourceoutlet 304 are configured in a manner to enable cleaning and/or dryingof the wafer 108 in the manner described herein. In one embodiment, theproximity head 106-3 includes the input ports 342 c which may feed fluidto at least some of the source inlets 302 a which run parallel to theinput ports 342 c shown in FIG. 13A.

FIG. 13C illustrates a side view of the proximity head 106-3 inaccordance with one embodiment of present invention. The proximity head106-3 includes the ports 342 a, 342 b, and 342 c. In one embodiment, theports 342 a, 342 b, and 342 c feed source inlets 302, source outlets304, and the source inlets 306 respectively. It should be understoodthat the ports may be any suitable number, size, or shape as long as thesource inlets 302 and 306 as well as source outlets 304 may be utilizedto generate, maintain, and manage the meniscus 116.

FIG. 14A shows a rectangular proximity head 106-4 in accordance with oneembodiment of the present invention. In one embodiment, the proximityhead 106-4 includes a configuration of source inlets 302 and 306 andsource outlets 304′ that is similar to the proximity head 106-3 asdiscussed in reference to FIG. 13A. The rectangular proximity head 106-3includes the source outlets 304′ that are larger in diameter than thesource outlets 304. In any of the proximity heads described herein, thediameter of the source inlets 302 and 306 as well as the source outlets304 may be altered so meniscus generation, maintenance, and managementmay be optimized. In one embodiment, the source outlets 304′ are locatedcloser to the source inlets 302 than the configuration discussed inreference to FIG. 13A. With this type of configuration, a smallermeniscus may be generated. The region spanned by the source inlets 302,306 and source outlets 304′ (or also source outlets 304 as described inreference to FIG. 11A) may be any suitable size and/or shape. In oneembodiment, the process window may be between about 0.03 square inchesto about 9.0 square inches. In a preferable embodiment, the processwindow may be about 0.75. Therefore, by adjusting the region of the Inthis embodiment, the source inlets 302 are capable of applying IPAtoward a wafer surface region, the source inlets 306 are capable ofapplying DIW toward the wafer surface region, and the source outlets 304are capable of applying vacuum to a region in close proximity of asurface of the wafer 108. By the application of the vacuum, the IPA,DIW, and any other type of fluids that may reside on a wafer surface maybe removed.

The proximity head 106-3 also includes ports 342 a, 342 b, and 342 cthat, in one embodiment, correspond to the source inlet 302, sourceoutlet 304, and source inlet 306 respectively. By inputting or removingfluid through the ports 342 a, 342 b, and 342 c, fluids may be inputtedor outputted through the source inlet 302, the source outlet 304, andthe source inlet 306. Although the ports 342 a, 342 b, and 342 ccorrespond with the source inlet 302, the source outlet 304, and thesource inlet 306 in this exemplary embodiment, it should be appreciatedthat the ports 342 a, 342 b, and 342 c may supply or remove fluid fromany suitable source inlet or source outlet depending on theconfiguration desired. Because of the configuration of the source inlets302 and 306 with the source outlets 304, the meniscus 116 may be formedby the process window between the proximity head 106-1 and the wafer108. The shape of the meniscus 116 may correspond with the shape of theprocess window and therefore the size and shape of the meniscus 116 maybe varied depending on the configuration and dimensions of the regionsof source inlets 302 and 306 and regions of the source outlets 304.

FIG. 14B shows a rear view of the rectangular proximity head 106-4 inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention. The rear viewof the proximity head 106-4, in one embodiment, corresponds to theleading edge 548 of the proximity head 106-4. It should be appreciatedthat the proximity head 106-4 is exemplary in nature and may be anysuitable dimension as long as the source inlets 302 and 306 as well asthe source outlet 304 are configured in a manner to enable cleaningand/or drying of the wafer 108 in the manner described herein. In oneembodiment, the proximity head 106-4 includes the input ports 342 cwhich may feed fluid to at least some of the source inlets 302 a whichrun parallel to the input ports 342 c shown in FIG. 13A.

FIG. 14C illustrates a side view of the rectangular proximity head 106-4in accordance with one embodiment of present invention. The proximityhead 106-4 includes the ports 342 a, 342 b, and 342 c. In oneembodiment, the ports 342 a, 342 b, and 342 c feed source inlets 302,source outlets 304, and the source inlets 306 respectively. It should beunderstood that the ports may be any suitable number, size, or shape aslong as the source inlets 302 and 306 as well as source outlets 304 maybe utilized to generate, maintain, and manage the meniscus 116.

FIG. 15A shows a proximity head 106 in operation according to oneembodiment of the present invention. It should be appreciated that theflow rate of the DIW and the N₂/IPA, the magnitude of the vacuum, androtation/movement of the wafer being processed may be varied in anysuitable manner to provide optimal fluid meniscus controllability andmanagement to generate enhanced wafer processing. The proximity head106, in one exemplary embodiment, is utilized in a configuration asdescribed in reference to FIG. 2A. As shown in reference to FIGS. 15Athrough 15F, the wafer is a clear material so fluid meniscus dynamicscan be seen with different flow rates, vacuum rates, and waferrotations. The flow rate of DIW and N₂/IPA as well as the vacuum androtation of the wafer may be varied depending on the conditionsencountered during drying. In FIG. 15A, the meniscus has been formed byinput of DIW and vacuum without any N₂/IPA flow. Without the N₂/IPAflow, the meniscus has an uneven boundary. In this embodiment, the waferrotation is zero and the DIW flow rate is 500 mi/mn.

FIG. 15B illustrates the proximity head 106 as described in FIG. 15Awith IPA input in accordance with one embodiment of the presentinvention. In this embodiment, the DIW flow rate is 500 ml/min and theN₂/IPA flow rate is 12 ml/min with the rotation of the wafer being zero.As shown by FIG. 15B, the usage of N₂/IPA flow has made the boundary ofthe meniscus more even. Therefore, the fluid meniscus is more stable andcontrollable.

FIG. 15C shows the proximity head 106 as described in FIG. 15B, but withthe N₂/IPA flow increased to 24 ml/min in accordance with one embodimentof the present invention. The rotation has been kept at zero and theflow rate of the DIW is 500 ml/min. When the N₂/IPA flow rate is toohigh, the fluid meniscus becomes deformed and less controllable.

FIG. 15D shows the proximity head 106 where the fluid meniscus is shownwhere the wafer is being rotated in accordance with one embodiment ofthe present invention. In this embodiment, the rotation of the wafer is3 rotations per minute. The flow rate of the DIW is 500 ml/min while theflow rate of the IPA is 12 SCFH. The magnitude of the vacuum is about 30in Hg @ 80 PSIG. When the wafer is rotated, the fluid meniscus becomesless stable due to the added wafer dynamics as compared with FIG. 15Cwhich shows the same DIW and N₂/IPA flow rate but without waferrotation.

FIG. 15E shows the proximity head 106 where the fluid meniscus is shownwhere the wafer is being rotated faster than the rotation shown in FIG.15D in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. In thisembodiment, the rotation of the wafer is 4.3 rotations per minute. Theflow rate of the DIW is 500 ml/min while the flow rate of the IPA is 12SCFH. The magnitude of the vacuum is about 30 on Hg @ 80 PSIG. When thewafer is rotated faster, the fluid meniscus has a more uneven boundaryas compared to the fluid meniscus discussed in reference to FIG. 15D dueto the added wafer dynamics as compared.

FIG. 15F shows the proximity head 106 where the N₂/IPA flow has beenincreased as compared to the N₂/IPA flow of FIG. 15D in accordance withone embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, thevariables such as the DIW flow rate, rate of wafer rotation, and vacuummagnitude are the same as that described in reference to FIG. 15D. Inthis embodiment, the N₂/IPA flow rate was increased to 24 SCFH. With theN₂/IPA flow rate increased, the N₂/IPA holds the fluid meniscus alongthe border to generate a highly controllable and manageable fluidmeniscus. Therefore, even with wafer rotation, the fluid meniscus looksstable with a consistent border that substantially corresponds to theregion with the plurality of source inlets 302 and the region with theplurality of source outlets 304. Therefore, a stable and highlycontrollable, manageable, and maneuverable fluid meniscus is formedinside of the process window so, in an exemplary drying process, fluidthat the proximity head 106 may encounter on a wafer surface is removedthereby quickly and efficiently drying the wafer surface.

FIGS. 16A through 19B show exemplary embodiments where a wafer that isoriented vertically may be processed by at least one proximity headwhere by either movement of the wafer and/or movement of-the at leastone proximity head, the wafer surface may be processed vertically fromtop to bottom. It should appreciated that wafer processing as describedherein may include cleaning, drying, rinsing, etc. The verticalprocessing of the wafer can enhance control of the meniscus and reducerandom fluid movement on the wafer during wafer processing.Consequently, by use of vertical wafer processing by the proximityhead(s) (also known as manifold), wafer processing such as, for example,cleaning, rinsing, and/or drying may be accomplished in an efficientmanner. It should be appreciated that the proximity head/manifold may beany suitable configuration or size as long as the proximityhead/manifold structure is consistent with the methods and apparatusdescribed herein. In a preferable embodiment, to achieve processuniformity, resident time of the meniscus on the wafer surface isuniform throughout the wafer. Therefore, scanning direction and speedmay be controlled so the meniscus area is scanned evenly over the wafer.

FIG. 16A illustrates a proximity head 106 a beginning a wafer processingoperation where the wafer 108 is scanned vertically in accordance withone embodiment of the present invention. In one embodiment, the wafer108 is oriented in a vertical manner so a top portion 108 c of the wafer108 is presented for scanning to the proximity head 106 a. In such anorientation, the surface of the wafer being processed is substantiallyparallel to a processing window 538 of the proximity head 106 a. Itshould be appreciated that the wafer 108 may be held in place or moveddepending on the configuration of the wafer processing system. In oneembodiment, as discussed in further detail in reference to FIG. 17A, thewafer 108 is held into place and the proximity head is moved from a topto bottom scanning motion, where a top portion 108 c of the wafer 108 isscanned before a bottom portion 108d of the wafer 108. In such anembodiment, the wafer 108 is positioned in a substantially verticalorientation. The position of the wafer 108 with respect to the y-axiscan therefore be in any suitable angle as long as the top portion 108 cof the wafer 108 is located higher along the y-axis than the bottomportion 108 d of the wafer 108. In a preferable embodiment, the wafer108 is positioned to be vertical along the y-axis. Therefore, in such anembodiment, the proximity head 106 a may move vertically in a downwardfashion and process the wafer surface from top to bottom.

In another embodiment, the proximity head 106 a may be held stationaryand the wafer 108 may be moved in a manner such that the wafer surfaceis processed in a vertical fashion where the top portion 108 c of thewafer 108 is scanned before the bottom portion 108 d of the wafer 108.It should be appreciated that any suitable device or apparatus may beused to move the proximity head 106 a vertically so as to scan thesurface of the wafer 108. In one embodiment, the proximity head 106 amay be attached to an arm that is then attached to a mechanical deviceto move the proximity head 106 a in a vertical manner. In anotherembodiment, the proximity head 106 a may be directly attached to amechanical device or apparatus that can facilitate movement of theproximity head 106 a close to the surface of the wafer 108 and to movethe proximity head 106 from the top portion 108 c of the wafer 108 tothe bottom portion 108 d of the wafer 108.

It should also be appreciated that a proximity head 106 b (not visiblein FIG. 16A but shown as an exemplary embodiment in FIG. 16F and 16G)may be used along with the proximity head 106 a to process both wafersurfaces on the two sides of the wafer 108. Therefore, the proximityheads 106 a and 106 b may be utilized, where one of the proximity headsmay process one side of the wafer 108 and the other proximity head mayprocess the other side of the wafer 108. The proximity heads 106 a and106 b may be any suitable proximity head described herein. In apreferable embodiment, two proximity heads 106 a and 106 b may beoriented so that the processing windows face each other. The processingwindows of the two proximity heads may then be oriented in closeproximity to each other. In such an embodiment, the space between theprocessing windows would be large enough so as to be greater than thethickness of the wafer 108. Therefore, when a meniscus is formed betweenthe two processing windows, the proximity heads 106 a and 106 b may bemoved down from above the wafer 108. It should be appreciated that theproximity heads 106 a and 106 b (or any other proximity heads describedherein) may be any suitable distance away from the wafer 108 as long asa stable controllable meniscus may be formed on the surface beingprocessed. In one embodiment, the proximity heads 106 a and 106 b areabout 0.1 mm to about 3 mm away from the respective surfaces beingprocessed. In another embodiment, the proximity heads 106 a and 106 bare about 1 mm to about 2 mm away from the respective surfaces beingprocessed, and in a preferable embodiment, the proximity heads 106 a and106 b are about 1.5 mm away from the respective surfaces beingprocessed. As the proximity head 106 a and 106 b move downward, themeniscus may contact the a top edge of the wafer 108 and one processingwindow would form a meniscus with one surface of the wafer 108 and theother processing windows would form a meniscus with the other surface ofthe wafer 108.

It should also be appreciated that the wafer processing operation couldbe started where the proximity heads 106 a and 106 b starts by initiallyproducing the meniscus on the wafer instead of moving the meniscus ontothe wafer 108 from above the top portion 108 a.

FIG. 16B illustrates a wafer processing continuing from FIG. 16A wherethe proximity head 106 a has started scanning the wafer 108 inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention. In oneembodiment, the top surface of the wafer 108 is positioned in asubstantially vertical orientation so the top surface of the wafer 108is visible when view along a horizontal axis. As the proximity head 106a comes into close proximity of the wafer 108, the meniscus 116 isformed between the process window 538 of the proximity head 106 a andthe wafer surface being processed. In one embodiment, the proximity head106 a is configured to dry the wafer 108. In such an embodiment, theprocess window 538 intelligently controls and manages the meniscus 116so drying takes place as the meniscus 116 moves from a top portion 108 cof the wafer 108 to the bottom portion 108 d of the wafer 108.Therefore, as the drying process takes place, the dried portion of thewafer 108 will become larger in a top to bottom direction. Thegeneration of the meniscus is described in further detail above

By processing the wafer 108 in a vertical orientation from top tobottom, the meniscus 116 may be optimally controlled by limiting theforces acting on the meniscus 116. In such a vertical orientation, onlyvertical forces exerted by gravity need be accounted for in thegeneration of a controlled and manageable meniscus. In addition, byscanning the proximity head 106 in a downward manner from the topportion 108 c of the vertically oriented wafer 108, the region of thewafer 108 that has already been dried may be kept dried in an optimalmanner. This may occur because the fluids or moisture in the wet regionsof the wafer 108 not yet processed would not move up against gravityinto the already dried regions.

FIG. 16C shows a continuation of a wafer processing operation from FIG.16B in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. In FIG.16C, the proximity head 106 has almost halfway (and processed about asemi-circle of the wafer 108) between the top portion 108 c and thebottom portion 108 d of the wafer 108.

FIG. 16D illustrates the wafer processing operation continued from FIG.16C in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. In FIG.16D, the proximity head 106 a has almost finished scanning the wafersurface. In one embodiment, when both the proximity head 106 a and 106 bare processing the respective sides of the wafer 108, as portions of themeniscus 116 on each side finish processing and are no longer in contactwith the wafer 108, the meniscuses on both sides of the wafer come intocontact and become one meniscus.

FIG. 16E shows the wafer processing operation continued from FIG. 16D inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention. As shown inFIG. 16E, the proximity head 106 a (and 106 b if a dual proximity headdevice is being utilized), has finished processing the wafer 108.

FIG. 16F shows a side view of the proximity heads 106 a and 106 bsituated over the top portion of the vertically positioned wafer 108 inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention. In oneembodiment, the proximity heads 106 b and 106 a may form the meniscus116 as described above. The proximity heads 106 a and 106 b may be movedsubstantially together downward to process the wafer as described infurther detail in reference to FIG. 16G.

FIG. 16G illustrates a side view of the proximity heads 106 a and 106 bduring processing of dual surfaces of the wafer 108 in accordance withone embodiment of the present invention. In one embodiment, as theproximity heads 106 a and 106 b move downward from above the wafer 108.As the meniscus 116 contacts the wafer 108, the proximity head 106 aforms a meniscus 116a with the wafer 108 and the proximity head 106 bforms a meniscus 116b with the wafer 108. Therefore, the proximity head106 a may process one side of the wafer 108 and the proximity head 106 bmay process the other side of the wafer. As discussed above, it shouldbe understood that the proximity heads 106 a and 106 b may be moveddownward, or the wafer 108 may be moved upward, or the proximity heads106 a and 106 b may be moved downward while the wafer 108 is movedupward. Consequently, the scanning of the wafer 108 may take place usingany suitable movement as long as the proximity heads 106 a and 106 b aremoved in a downward movement relative to the wafer 108. By using thisrelative downward scanning motion, the drying may take place from thetop portion 108 a of the wafer 108 to the bottom portion 108 b of thewafer 108.

Although FIGS. 16A to 16G shows the proximity head 106 a moving from offthe edge of the wafer 108 across the diameter to leave the edge of thewafer 108, other embodiments may be utilized where the proximity head106 a hovers over the wafer 108 near a top edge of the wafer 108 andmoves toward the surface of the wafer 108. Once in close proximity tothe wafer surface, the meniscus is formed and the meniscus is scanneddown along a diameter of the wafer 108. In yet another embodiment, theproximity head may process only a portion of the wafer surface.

FIG. 17A shows a wafer processing system where the wafer is heldstationary in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.In one embodiment, the wafer 108 is held in place by holders 600. Itshould be appreciated that the holders 600 may be any suitable type ofdevice or apparatus that can hold the wafer 108 and still enable thescanning of the wafer surface by the proximity head 106 such as, forexample, edge grip, fingers with edge attachments, etc. In thisembodiment, the proximity head 106 may be held and moved by a proximityhead carrier 602. It should be appreciated that the proximity headcarrier 602 may be any suitable type of apparatus or device that canmove the proximity head 106 from above the wafer 108 and scan theproximity head 106 in a downward manner while keeping the proximity head106 in close proximity to the wafer surface. In one embodiment, theproximity head carrier 602 may be similar to the proximity head carrierassembly as shown FIG. 2A except that the wafer is oriented verticallyand the proximity head carrier is configured to move from top to bottomin a vertical manner.

FIG. 17B shows a wafer processing system where the proximity headcarrier 602′ may be held in place or moved in accordance with oneembodiment of the present invention. In one embodiment, the wafer 108may be held by edge gripper 604 and moved upward. By this upward motion,the wafer 108 may be scanned by the proximity head 106 in a relativedownward manner where the proximity head 106 starts scanning the surfaceof the wafer 108 in the top portion and moves downward. In oneembodiment, the proximity head carrier 602′ may be kept still and therelative downward scan may be accomplished by the wafer being movedupward while scanning is taking place. In another embodiment, the wafer108 may be moved upward and the proximity head carrier 602′ may be moveddownward. Therefore, the relative downward scan may be accomplished inone of many different variations of wafer holder motions and proximityhead carrier motions.

In a preferable embodiment as shown in the bottom portion of FIG. 17B,after the proximity head 106 has scanned over a majority of the wafer108 and reaches the edge gripper 604, the holders 600, such as describedin reference to FIG. 17A, may grip the wafer 108 and move it upward tocomplete the wafer processing. Once the holders 600 grab onto the wafer108, the edge gripper 604 may release the wafer 108. Then another wafermay be moved into position for wafer processing operations by theproximity head 106.

FIG. 17C shows a wafer processing system where the proximity headextends about a radius of the wafer 108 in accordance with oneembodiment of the present invention. In one embodiment, the waferprocessing system may utilize a proximity head that is capable ofproducing a meniscus that may cover at least a radius of the wafer 108.In this embodiment, the proximity head 106 may scan a wafer surface froma top portion 108 c to a bottom portion 108 d of the wafer 108. Inanother embodiment, two proximity heads 106 may be utilized where onesemi-circle of the wafer surface is processed by one of the proximityheads 106 while the other semi-circle of the wafer surface is processedby the other of the proximity heads 106.

FIG. 17D shows a wafer processing system where the proximity head 106moves vertically and the wafer 108 rotates in accordance with oneembodiment of the present invention. In one embodiment, the proximityhead 106 moves in the fashion as described in reference to FIG. 17Cwhile, at the same time, the wafer 108 is rotated in direction 112 byusing rollers 102 a, 102 b, and 102 c as discussed in reference to theabove described figures.

FIG. 18A shows a proximity head 106-5 that may be utilized for verticalscanning of a wafer in accordance with one embodiment of the presentinvention. In one embodiment, the proximity head 106-5 is at least aslong as the diameter of the wafer 108 so the proximity head 106-5 canproduce a meniscus that encompasses at least a diameter of the wafer. Inanother embodiment, the proximity head 106-5 is long enough so themeniscus produced by the proximity head 106-5 can extend across thediameter of the wafer so as to include the regions of the wafer surfaceenclosed within the exclusion region. Therefore, by use of the proximityhead 106-5, an entire wafer surface may be scanned in one pass. Theproximity head 106-5 includes source inlets 302 and 306 and sourceoutlets 304. In one embodiment, there is a plurality of source inlets306 that is in a shape of a line that is surrounded by a plurality ofsource outlets 304 that forms a rectangular shape. Two lines of sourceinlets 302 are adjacent to the plurality of source outlets 304. In oneembodiment, the source inlets 302 and 306 as well as the source outlets304 may make up the process window where the meniscus 116 may be formed.It should also be appreciated that the proximity head 106-5 as well asthe other proximity heads described herein may be varied in size to havedifferent sizes and configurations of process windows. By varying theconfiguration of the process windows, the size, shape, and thefunctionality of the meniscus may be changed. In one embodiment, therange of sizes of the proximity head, the sizes of the source inlets 302and 306 as well as source outlets 304, and the sizes of the ports 342 a,342 b, and 342 c (as shown in FIGS. 18B and 18C) are as described abovein reference to FIGS. 11-14. Therefore, the proximity head 106-5 may beany suitable size and configuration depending on the applicationdesired.

For example, if one proximity head is desired to scan an entire 200 mmwafer in one pass, the proximity head 106-5 may have to have a processwindow that produces a meniscus that is at least 200 mm in length. Ifthe exclusionary region of the 200 mm is not desired to be processed,the meniscus may be less that 200 mm in length. In another example, ifone proximity head is desired to scan an entire 300 mm wafer in onepass, the proximity head 106-5 may have to have a process window thatproduces a meniscus that is at least 300 mm in length. If theexclusionary region of the 300 mm is not desired to be processed, themeniscus may be less that 300 mm in length. In yet another embodiment,if a semicircle of the wafer is desired to be processed by a proximityhead in one pass, the process window may be a size that would produce ameniscus length that is at least a radius of the wafer. Therefore, thesize of the manifold, process window, and the meniscus may be changeddepending on the application desired.

FIG. 18B shows a side view of the proximity head 106-5 in accordancewith one embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, theproximity head 106-5 also includes ports 342 a, 342 b, and 342 c that,in one embodiment, correspond to the source inlet 302, source outlet304, and source inlet 306 respectively. By inputting or removing fluidthrough the ports 342 a, 342 b, and 342 c, fluids may be inputted oroutputted through the source inlet 302, the source outlet 304, and thesource inlet 306. Although the ports 342 a, 342 b, and 342 c correspondwith the source inlet 302, the source outlet 304, and the source inlet306 in this exemplary embodiment, it should be appreciated that theports 342 a, 342 b, and 342 c may supply or remove fluid from anysuitable source inlet or source outlet depending on the configurationdesired. Because of the configuration of the source inlets 302 and 306with the source outlets 304, the meniscus 116 may be formed between theproximity head 106-5 and the wafer 108. The shape of the meniscus 116may vary depending on the configuration and dimensions of the proximityhead 106-5. As shown in FIG. 18B, the portion 342 c and the source inlet306 may be configured to angle the input of IPA to the surface of thewafer. As discussed above in reference to FIG. 7C and 7D, by use of anangled source inlet 306, the meniscus may be managed efficiently so theshape of the meniscus may be controlled and maintained in an optimalmanner. In one embodiment, source inlet 306 may be angled between about0 degrees and about 90 degrees in the direction of the source outlet 304where angle 90 would be pointing toward the wafer and the angle 0 wouldbe pointing inward to the source outlet 304. In a preferable embodiment,the source inlet 306 is angled about 15 degrees . It should beunderstood that the source inlet 302 and source outlet 304 may be angledin any suitable angle that may optimize the generation, control, andmanagement of a stable fluid meniscus.

FIG. 18C shows an isometric view of the proximity head 106-5 inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention. The view of theproximity head 106-5 shown in FIG. 18C shows a back side opposite theprocess window which includes connecting holes 580 and aligning holes582. The connecting holes 580 may be used to attach the proximity head106-5 to a proximity head carrier. The aligning holes may be utilized toalign the manifold depending on the application desired. The proximityhead 106-5 also includes ports 342 a, 342 b, and 342, on a side of theproximity head 106-5 opposite the leading edge of the proximity head106-5. It should be appreciated that the configuration and location ofthe ports 342 a, 342 b, 342 c, and connecting holes 580, and thealigning holes 582 may be application dependent and therefore may be anysuitable configuration and location as long as the meniscus may bemanaged in accordance with the descriptions herein.

FIG. 19A shows a multi-process window proximity head 106-6 in accordancewith one embodiment of the present invention. The proximity head 106-6includes two process windows 538-1 and 538-2. In one embodiment, theprocess window 538-2 may use cleaning fluids instead of DIW to cleanwafers. The process window 538-2 may use any suitable configuration ofsource inlets and outlets that may apply any suitable type of cleaningfluid to the wafer. In one embodiment, the process window 538-2 mayinclude only source inlets that may apply the cleaning fluid. In anotherembodiment, the process window 538-2 may include other configurationsand finctions of source inlets and outlets described herein.

The process window 538-1 may then dry the wafer. The process window538-1 may use any suitable configurations of source inlets and sourceoutlets consistent with the configurations and functions describedherein for drying a wafer surface. Therefore, by use of multiple processwindows multiple functions such as cleaning and drying may beaccomplished by one proximity head. In yet another embodiment, insteadof multiple process windows being located on one proximity head,multiple proximity heads may be utilized to process the wafer where, forexample, one proximity head may clean the wafer and another proximityhead may dry the wafer according to the apparatuses and methodologydescribed herein.

FIG. 19B shows a multi-process window proximity head 106-7 with threeprocess windows in accordance with one embodiment of the presentinvention. It should be appreciated that the proximity head 106-7 mayinclude any suitable number of processing windows depending on thenumber and types of processing desired to be accomplished by theproximity head 106-7. In one embodiment, the proximity head 106-7includes a process window 538-1, 538-2, and 538-3. In one embodiment,the process window 538-1, 538-2, and 538-3 are cleaning, rinsing/drying,and drying process windows respectively. In one embodiment, the processwindow 538-1 may form a meniscus made up of DIW to rinse a wafersurface. The process window 538-2 may generate a cleaning fluid meniscusto clean a wafer surface. The process windows 538-1 and 538-2 includesat least one source inlet 306 to apply fluid to the wafer surface. Inone embodiment, the process windows 538-1 and 538-2 may optionallyinclude source inlet 302 and source outlet 304 to generate a stable andcontrollable fluid meniscus. The process window 538-3 may generate thefluid meniscus 116 to dry the wafer. It should be appreciated that theprocess window 538-3 both rinses and dries the wafer surface because thefluid meniscus is made up of DIW. Therefore, different types of processwindows may be included in the proximity head 106-7. As discussed inreference to FIG. 19A above, instead of having multiple process windowsin one proximity head, multiple proximity heads may be used where one ormore of the proximity heads may be used for different purposes such ascleaning, rinsing, drying, etc.

While this invention has been described in terms of several preferredembodiments, it will be appreciated that those skilled in the art uponreading the preceding specifications and studying the drawings willrealize various alterations, additions, permutations and equivalentsthereof. It is therefore intended that the present invention includesall such alterations, additions, permutations, and equivalents as fallwithin the true spirit and scope of the invention.

1. A manifold for use in preparing a wafer surface, comprising: a firstprocess window in a first portion of the manifold being configuredgenerate a first fluid meniscus on the wafer surface; and a secondprocess window in a second portion of the manifold being configured togenerate a second fluid meniscus on the wafer surface.
 2. A manifold foruse in preparing a wafer surface as recited in claim 1, wherein thefirst fluid meniscus cleans the wafer surface and the second fluidmeniscus cleans and dries the wafer surface.
 3. A manifold for use inpreparing a wafer surface as recited in claim 1, further comprising, athird process window in a third portion of the manifold being configuredto generate a third fluid meniscus on the wafer surface, the third fluidmeniscus drying the wafer surface.
 4. A manifold for use in preparing awafer surface as recited in claim 1, wherein, the first process windowis on a leading edge side of the manifold.
 5. A manifold for use inpreparing a wafer surface, comprising: a head having a surface that isconfigured to be placed proximate to the wafer surface, the head havinga first process window region and a second process window region, eachof the first process window region and the second process window regionincluding a plurality of fluid input conduits and a plurality of fluidoutput conduits, such that the plurality of fluid input conduits areconfigured to deliver a fluid to the wafer surface and the plurality offluid output conduits substantially remove the fluid during operation,and such that during operation a first fluid meniscus is defined betweenthe head surface and wafer surface at the first process window regionand a second fluid meniscus is defined between the head surface and thewafer surface at the second process window region.
 6. A manifold for usein preparing a wafer surface as recited in claim 5, wherein the firstprocess window region and the second process window region define eithera same meniscus type or a different meniscus type.
 7. A substratepreparation apparatus, the apparatus comprising: a housing configured tobe installed in a substrate fabrication facility, the housing includinga manifold for use in preparing a wafer surface, the manifold configuredto include a first process window in a first portion of the manifold, afirst fluid meniscus capable of being defined within the first processwindow, and a second process window in a second portion of the manifold,a second fluid meniscus capable of being defined within the secondprocess window; and an arm being integrated with the housing, the armbeing coupled to the manifold, such that the arm is capable ofpositioning the manifold in proximity with the substrate duringoperation.
 8. A substrate preparation apparatus as recited in claim 7,wherein the substrate enters the housing in a dry state and exits thehousing a same dry state.
 9. A substrate preparation apparatus asrecited in claim 8, wherein the housing is a process module.
 10. Asubstrate preparation apparatus as recited in claim 9, wherein thesubstrate is a wafer and the process module processes the wafer.
 11. Asubstrate preparation apparatus as recited in claim 9, wherein thehousing includes another manifold for processing an opposite side of thesubstrate.